Marginal: Delusionism EP
Translation Recordings
Marginal covers a generous amount of ground on this twenty-four-minute EP for Washington-based Translation Recordings. Jungle, drum'n'bass, and ambient-dub are some of the styles deftly referenced by Marginal partners Silviu Costinescu and Anton Tyutin (aka Alien Pimp and Datacode, respectively) in the release's five well-toned productions.
Deep, sweeping atmospherics introduce “Delusionism” before a sleek jungle groove and a slinky saxophone melody flesh out the arrangement. Tough and muscular, the opener stokes a controlled yet nonetheless high-intensity fury, with the duo demonstrating a sophisticated handling of pacing and sound design and the production exemplifying a dynamism and spaciousness one associates with dub at its most experimental. “Delusionism” is arguably the EP's strongest track, but the others are hardly also-rans. “Autobleep” in particular entices with its jittery, hard-grooving funk pulse; it's robotic, yes, but the producers do much to humanize the clubby workout with raunchy electric guitar riffing, angelic vocal exhalations, and other colouristic detail.
Guests contribute, too: Spanish producers Clima team up with Marginal for “Techtonix,” a bass-thudding lowrider that grinds, crackles, and writhes like some overcranked machine, and the EP's capped by a Hidden Turn treatment of “Every 1 Needs a 0,” a cut from 2014 that takes us out on relaxedly funky, downtempo wave of chilled beats and dubwise atmospheres.February 2019