XFORM trax by twofold

"Starting with a take on the classic 'Ha Dance' sample that’s a staple of club genres, [twofold] ramps up the distortion and hyperactivity across six tracks. Every other percussion hit sounds like a door slam or gunshot, and the screeching and crunching synthesis and glitched edits will leave you on the verge of panic. The last two tracks 'Invuln. Spell' and 'Trim Curve' are so gnarled and dense it’s like being on a dancefloor full of trans-dimensional beings mutating as they move. But for all that, it’s full of radical joy. Nobody else is making music like this anywhere right now." —Joe Muggs for Bandcamp Daily, Best Electronic Music November 2022

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Following several singles and a compilation EP, “XFORM trax” explores more of the quick-and-dirty club tool sound that fans of “Club cuts for Nikki” will enjoy. “Vibe Check Ha” and “Invuln. Spell” are proudly deconstructed and industrial, with giant basses primed to melt speaker cones and militant vocal samples and drum chops to back them up, respectively. Joining these two tracks is a collaboration with Tank Jr. in the form of “Fuzzy hxc taiko tool”, which merges the collaborator’s hardcore kicks with mallet drum percussion and distorted rumble kicks.

Meanwhile, the alarms and camera flashes of “RAIDED tool” and the clatters of gunfire and ricochets in “RETURN FIRE mecha tool” expose more of the machinic sound that twofold’s “THE LOST MECHA TOOLS” compilation EP centered on—and “XFORM mecha tool” takes it to its logical conclusion, where the drop centers on the sound of clanking gears, silhouetted against chaotic toms, kicks and crashes.

Finally, the more melodic elements in “Invuln. Spell” and “RAIDED tool” find another home in “Trim curve”. Synth leads and pads emerge from a background punctuated by industrial exhaust, robotic servos, and creaking sheet metal—all the while, samples of flowing water thrum in the background, as if to offer a salve from the cacophony of the preceding tracks.

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Brief artist's comment:
XFORM trax is the result of long deliberations on resistance, community, and the transformative power of collaboration. All of the tracks on display have emerged out of the contributions and curatorial work of various friends, acquaintances, and people in my extended circles—the tracks are an effort to acknowledge that work and rearrange it into beats and songs that coax joy and dancing out of listeners, but also relate my feelings of confidence about my friends' skills and output. I'm proud to be able to create the music I create, and none of it would be possible without you.
Thanks, and let's continue to transform :)

Tactical sonic interventions

26, Atlanta producer/DJ making industrial and experimental Black dance + club music

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