Asserter – Float Primes
Asserter is a fourth world producer from Louisville, Kentucky. His works blur the lines between ambient, noise, drone and metaphysical explorations, while his cheeky personality oozes from the seams. An expertise in sound designing and mixing, Float Primes is a masterclass in nonsensical suites.
Each track is elegantly titled after a colour. The Blue tracks boast a mix of magical, vibrant high-pitched tones which bounce around rich, iridescent soundscapes. Black, in contrast, is the demented antithesis to these opening suites. Both Yellow tracks integrate a brilliant utilisation of lighter tones amongst their confusing, degrading soundscapes. While the second Yellow may be borderline comical compared to its counterpart, both songs are equally colourful, playful and wonderfully absorbing. White is a noteworthy detour with an exceptionally gorgeous outro. The first two Red songs continue the trend of stunning production, with Red 2 notably innovating tacky and overdone synths into a grandiose suite. Red 3, in contrast, is not as strong as its counterparts; it often sounds like a collection of fragmented ideas loosely tied together – albeit with an excellent execution. Calibrated, the one song not named after a colour, is charming and catelectrically enthralling. The closer, Grey, is spectacular. From its opening synths to its borderline-cyberpunk closing segments, the song wonderfully summarises many of the ideas present throughout the album, while simultaneously maintaining its own distinct personality.
The short transition tracks in between the grander movements are a mixed bag. B-Y is completely sterile, and often sounds much too like a Gas homage. Y-R is completely devoid of the energy that makes its surrounding tracks so magnificent. Red to Grey is the exception to these transitions; the excellent use of panning and space breaths much needed life into its soundscapes. While these tracks are mostly filler, they are easily forgiven among such a marvellous track-listing.
Unlike most fourth world artists, Asserter doesn’t take himself too seriously. As a result, his works are completely bereft of boring, over-indulgent moments. Instead, his dynamics works are consistently surprising and refreshingly joyful. It balances the expertise craftmanship of a proficient artist with the childlike wonder of a young, whimsical whippersnapper. Float Primes is an exquisite delight.
Awesome
Listen to it here:
Asserter – Float Primes
