AURA’s debut release for the Early Reflex imprint, Salt, is as easy to move to as it is a challenge to categorize. His emphasized, bass-driven sound moves away from the often flat structure of club-oriented techno and towards a strong dynamism full of rhythm and flow.
On the EP’s title track the Australian producer prolongs the build-up until a pulsating beat takes over, accented by crisp hi-hats. This forms an almost mellow symbiosis that expands on the tone and melody suggested in the first phrase. Reverberant percussion evokes the world of early dubstep, where a subtle post-industrial weariness encounters steady and suggestive basslines. Here, an open-ended structure allows AURA to experiment with counterpoint without ever disrupting the vibrant arc of the track.
The backdrop is made up of rapidly successive sound effects that turn this musical construction into a spectre. They impose an ominous quality to the overall atmosphere of “Salt”, where different genre-tropes are synthesized into a singular production-based ‘audiofeast’. Accessible yet sonoric, AURA is quintessential listening for both the club-goers and the shut-in audiophiles.
by Juliet Hoornaert.
Salt is out 02/07/20 on Early Reflex. Pre-order here.