Circle Traps EP review

Circle Traps are a new project from Jack Wyllie and Duncan Bellamy, a.k.a one half of Mercury nominees The Portico Quartet, who have roped in collaborator Will Ward to provide an outlet for their electronic musings. Their self-titled debut on Subeena's Opit Records acts as an eclectic statement of intent for the producer's fledgling label while remaining an impressive release in its own right.

The group's musical background immediately shines through in their restrained but effective use of samples, both instrumental and artificial. The aptly titled 'Fjord' conjures up bleak Nordic landscapes, as beats freeze and shatter into shards of percussion while chimes ring out in the arctic breeze. Its melancholic introspection stands in sharp contrast to 'Bo! Symbol' which escorts us into the rehearsal room of a forgotten jazz ensemble, a claustrophobic space where tortured saxophones rub shoulders with frenzied reverse snares, stirring memories of Kieran Hebden's more avant garde explorations with the drummer Steve Reid.

'Perspex, Glass' is an experiment in audio alchemy, mixing the disparate ingredients of lingering piano notes, imposing kick-drums and murmured snatches of vocalist Cornelia to create a potent sonic potion, while the scattershot drums and murky sub-bass of 'Mirrors and Monuments' pay tribute to Burial's mournfully skewed take on 2-step. By ensuring that each track creates its own distinct mood, the threesome have produced an EP of diverse delights that marks them out as producers to watch and ensures this is one side project you'll want to see pushed into the limelight.