textura

Albums
Bass Clef
William Brittelle
Canaille
Calvin Cardioid
Cex
John Daly
Delta Funktionen
DJ W!ld
Drexciya
Petar Dundov
Kyle Bobby Dunn
Glitterbug
Grouper
Hildur Gudnadottir
Gunnelpumpers
Kristian Heikkila
Stephen Hummel
I've Lost
Jamie Jones
Monika Kruse
Deniz Kurtel
Mere
Mohn
Motion Sickness T. Travel
Maayan Nidam
Alex Niggemann
Padang Food Tigers
Panabrite
paniyolo
The Pirate Ship Quintet
Plvs Vltra
Retina.it
Sankt Otten
Simon Scott
Wadada Leo Smith
Susanna
Robert Scott Thompson
Ursprung
Wes Willenbring

Compilations / Mixes
Air Texture II
Nic Fanciulli
GoGo Get Down
Origamibiro

EPs
Borka
FilFla
Gone Beyond / Mumbles
Gulls
Maps and Diagrams
Time Dilation

Borka: What Sticks
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Twenty-seven minutes of alluringly wonky glitch-hop from Ljubljana, Slovenia-based beatmaker Borja Mocnik aka Borka. His own self-effacing characterization of his music—that it's “more beats than richly arranged pieces [and] mainly sample-based and slowish”—doesn't do justice to how fully formed the tracks on his debut EP sound. Mocnik's spent the last decade DJing and producing, so he's clearly a man with skills who also knows how to work a hook to maximum advantage. Synthesizers, samples, and head-nodding beats are the ingredients Mocnik blends together in cuts that argue their case in, on average, three minutes and then quickly move along. What Sticks, in other words, is no slapdash, lazy effort but something considerably more than mere beat-based exercises.

Mocnik has an undeniable ear for melodic hooks. That's immediately obvious when syrupy strings and a choir's exhalations roll out at the start of the wonky “Stringy Thingy.” There's a vocal melody in “Le Vent” that's as addictive as crack, and the flute riff that accompanies it isn't far behind. The earthy hip-hop groove anchoring “Jimmy Sings” gets a nice boost from a dramatic vocal Mocnik patches together from places unknown, while “Miss You Like My Hi Hat” overlays a slo-mo glitch-hop pulse with a smattering of soul vocal samples and synth flutter. It's telling that the EP's only misstep comes at the end in the form of an overly busy “Stringy Thingy” remix by Croatian producer Josip Klobucar. To be frank, the simple charms of the original are brought into even sharper relief when heard after the remix.

June 2012