Mosca - Touchie Riddim

Published on 2019-11-23 00:00:01 by Jago Lynch

Mosca is undoubtedly most well-known for his notorious 2011 release Done Me Wrong/Bax with the EP’s B-Side Bax currently boasting almost 2 million Spotify listens, with its UKG inspired bass line and familiar 2-Step drum patterns.You would be forgiven, then, for having slept on some of his more recent releases, which haven’t gained nearly as much traction as these earlier tunes, but have moved in a more interesting and experimental direction, the culmination of which can be seen on his new release on FLUF, Touchie Riddim.FLUF – based in Malmö, Sweden – relishes in the minimal and experimental, with many of its releases being recorded in just one modular session. Mosca’s latest piece output is no different; Touchie Riddim is split into four tracks that share many of the same sounds and atmosphere and yet make it difficult for a listener to mentally map these bleeps and drones in the conventional way one might conceive a ‘track.’The first track opens up with an industrial sounding echo, which then quickly gives way to dominant synths, punctuated by high pitched electrical injections that cut through the bass and stop the track from ever settling into any kind of cohesive rhythm. This is more art than music at times, the furthest music one can imagine from Done Me Wrong/Bax.The sounds used in Touchie Riddim echo those of Mosca’s more recent tunes like Kidney Version and Fever Version, but on this latest release you really feel that Mosca is finally being allowed to flex his modular muscles. Perhaps as a result, the EP sometimes lacks a feeling of composure and restraint, with the first and last tracks of the release being nebulous and difficult to follow.However, when alongside the tape’s other tracks, one is given just enough time to relax in a droning synth or some industrial noise before being plunged back into the modular madness.The EP is not an easy listen, but then, it’s not supposed to be; there is familiarity in the sounds used, they could easily fit into a leftfield electro track, or even a Grime loop as suggested by Resident Advisor’s October review. Yet when arranged in the way they are by Mosca on Touchie Riddim these sounds take on an otherworldliness, a sense of almost-music, creating more of an atmosphere than a ‘riddim.’ And while the release won’t be for everyone, it is certainly an interesting and important exploration of the limitations of music and the lengths to which familiar electronic sounds can be stretched, taking some of Mosca’s recent stylings to a logical conclusion.Further reading: http://loose-lips.co.uk/blog/fluf-recordsMosca Touchie  Riddim EP
Available on cassette and digital on FLUF.
https://flufrecs.bandcamp.com/album/touchie-riddim-ep

Written by Jago Lynch