distance prefix - An Extra Piece

 Released: October 13

In his follow-up from this year’s VARIANT, distance prefix takes a rather different approach. Previously, we were treated to a genre-bending collection of tracks that included glitch, dubstep, and IDM influence. But on this lates album, An Extra Piece, much of the higher energy elements are subdued considerably and we are instead treated to a collage of some rather beautiful and emotive ambient pieces. The entire album has a markedly more relaxed tone while still integrating some of the stranger and glitchier elements that distance prefix has done on earlier albums. Tracks like “Harmonic Dissonance” really solidify this approach as it begins with nothing more than lush pads and vocal tones. But then the pads subside and we get a slow-moving downtempo piece that makes use of slight glitchy textures in the background. It produces a wonderful little vibe and transitions perfectly. 

There’s a great balance between beat-driven tracks and the purely ambient ones. Any tracks that have a beat tend to have one that is slow, relaxed, a little subdued, and incredibly atmospheric. “Contradiction” take the atmospheric rhythms to a new level, being drowned out in so much reverb that they almost blend seamlessly into the more tonal elements of the track “Lead Consonant” gives us one of the most fast paced aesthetics on the album, although the rhythm repeatedly falls apart and reassembles itself over and over to the point that it may as well be slowed. And then we have the wonderful ambient walls of sound that are “Slipping Beneath the Waves” and “Hidden Architecture,” the former of which gives us swirling stereophonics and the latter gives an unexpected 80s cop drama-esque saxophone, which is something I can never fail to appreciate. The album may overall take a markedly different direction, but it’s a great and interesting turn that doesn’t completely turn on distance prefix’s established sound.