Clark* – Death Peak

Came across this entirely by accident on Spotify, what an album. I agree with this fabulous sentence in a review I read... "his tracks sound like jittery, rusted iron machines that somehow produce long rainbows of melody, and there are many moments when the tracks cling to the edge of control' - they are thoughtforms of impossible scale, momentarily terrifying,, like interlocking logic exploding unpredicatbly into unsuspecting expansive environments.

Why did I decide to put this vinyl in my collection ? Because I discovered a while ago that Clark has become a classic "idm" "warp" "electronic" artist. Going through his discography now and then back in 2018 made me realize he's quite an underrated guy in the idm/electronic world. And so creative ! To me this album proves how techno can become "art-techno" once again [the term I once used for Underworld's "Second Toughest..." album]. He's a guy with vision. This album proves it, with its changing moods etc. A mature artist who really seems to know what he's doing. Great stuff.

Fantastic album. Great cocktail of techno, minimal, dance, trance and even some tech house influences. The vinyl cutting is spot on: dead silent and the music sounds clear but still deep when necessary. However, as the runtimes on all sides are quite short, this record could have been cut at 45rpm (Runtimes: A: 11:30 / B: 11:30 / C: 10:45 / D: 9:55) or have it on 3 sides instead of 4 to save me getting out of my couch once to flip the record.

The most accessible Clark album yet - and that by no means it's any less "Clark", to paraphrase the Pitchfork review. A truly mature sound from an ever-evolving artist, in complete control of his unique style, blending techno with glitch and children's choir, adding a dash of IDM and even EDM, to a rainbow-like, kaleidoscopic effect. From the pulsating strings of "Peak Magnetic" to the melancholy yearning of album highlight "Catastrophe Album", this is bound to enthrall both longtime fans of the artist and newcomers alike.