aaamusic | On 06, Feb 2011

Chairman Kato is definitely an experimenter, exploring a little known genre defined “chubstep”, a kind of dubstep with dirty and fat beats. Wildfire, his 5-track EP, focuses on his research of a sound that attempt to turn into melodies what we can easily call “noise”, like drones, scratches or the rustle of the sand on a surface. The result is estranging, because he succeed in creating a dark-dreaming atmosphere combining these sounds with a heavy use of synths and hypnotizing drums that dilate time in loose moments.

The backbeats give the feeling of old vinyls played backwards, you ought to listen to Fighting Fires to believe it: a two-minute jewel that makes the listener lost in a lysergic dimension.

Streets of rage creates a sense of anxiety with the effect of  a pick-up scratching on a record lasting over a minute, and then covered by a tapestry o synthesizers.

Gemini eyes is the best track, it’s more waving and gets back 80s sounds giving the tune a vintage bright gloss. While Thudd, the last track, is more obvious, using smashes and metallic sounds that remind me These New Puritans somehow, even if thy have nothing in common.

Wildfire is the perfect EP for people who wants to explore their inner self trying to reach a trance state, or wants to explore music boundaries to find a way to go beyond.

Author: Roberta Capuano