seven

markant is back with a second full-length album after "infam". until recently his extensive backcatalogue was only available in limited vinyl prints. "vice versa" opens with quiet ambient pieces, slowly advancing with minimum rhythms and deep warm strings. this beginning would be somewhat surprising to anyone familiar with "infam." soon enough the rhythms pick up and we are back to familiar heavy percussion backed by melancholic melodies.

what I have always liked about infam is his sense of composition, a combination of tough abrasive percussion, and long, seamlessly flowing into each other, tracks. this album is no exception, starting out with soft ambient layers that build up to technoid rhythms, supported by deep melodies. this is one notable difference from previous album – this time around the sound is a lot more melodic, the contrast between heaviness and melody is more striking; at times the rhythms are abandoned completely, immersing the listener into deep warm melodies. this very contrast, this dreaminess offset by steady, incessant percussion, is what makes markant so appealing. on some tracks ("vice versa", "deserto") beats are escaping idm realm, leaning closer to something in the vein of dark techno supported by beautiful strings and key sequences.

markant's approach seems to be so simple, and yet no one really does it as well as him. this album is not nearly as noisy as "infam", it compensates the absence of noisy squeals with soaring strings and lush melodies [ one can almost spot a few 80s synth influences ], as well as more "streamlined" percussion. the latter is what makes this album for me – so precise, so well-placed, so perfectly weighted. overall, "vice versa" is more "user-friendly", with a distinct sound that might appeal to anyone that is weary of broken, arrhythmic splintery sound of traditional idm, and yet looking for the same "hi-tech", eclectic appeal and strong melodies.