Still early on in theirASCENT, Manchester’s Project 13 are a label who have so far been defined by an experimental approach to club music and a cold, unforgiving aesthetic that’s remained suffused with a certain UK quality.
With previous releases coming from their tight-knit group of core artists including Acre, Divided and Szare they now ready their 4th record - a 12” marking the return of Divided for his second outing on Project 13.
Having provided 002 on the label and also releasing on Resin back in 2014, Divided now introduces his Black Swallower / Interzone EP - a brash and daring hybrid melding Grime and Techno with that same UK tinge as its predecessors.
‘Black Swallower’ kicks things off with a vicious snare and a wide, heavy kick set to a stepping rhythm. Metallic synth tones hack their way through the mix before ‘Interzone’ sets rough, tumbling drums under lively, circling tones that add further weight and substance to the Project 13 catalogue.
“In the follow up to their inaugural release from Acre that garnered support from the likes of Dario Zenker, Pearson Sound, Norman Nodge and Jamie XX, Manchester based Project 13 deliver their second package from newcomer Divided backed up by Hodge on remix duties.
Despite it’s relative infancy Project 13 have forged a distinctive sound characterised by cold mechanical textures and tough, scuzzy percussion which in this case is represented deftly within their latest offering: Divided’s ‘Mile End’ EP.
‘Uildi’ kicks things off with a frosty, juddering synth pattern propelled by rasping percussion before ‘Mehrige’ builds behind a driven kick set sawing through it’s menacing back drop. The title track then blooms through circling machine loops and more off-kilter percussion as it picks up fiery vocal snips and brazen, hacking synth tones.
Bristol based Hodge then follows his releases on Hotline, Punch Drunk and Tempa weighing in with a 4/4 take on ‘Uildi’ that sets a thick, sizzling texture over a persistent, pacy bump rounding up another solid release from a flourishing and exciting new label.”
Manchester based Project 13 continue to bolster what’s quickly becoming an extolled catalogue of UK-indebted Techno - one that has already garnered support from an impressive collection of tastemakers including Ben UFO, Pearson Sound, Pariah, Robag Wruhme and Alan Fitzpatrick. In the follow up their first two releases from Acre and Divided (with Hodge on remix duties) with the next instalment courtesy of Mindset and Idle Hands affiliated duo, Szare.
Also hailing from Manchester, Szare are a pair who utilise brash, concrete kick drums, tribal rhythms and unforgiving synth tones to forge a cold and unforgiving sound that pair them perfectly with Project 13. Their Parched / Scored EP shows Szare delving deep and one fans of the P13 series will relish: 2 dogged club-cuts that hold no prisoners.
‘Parched’ kicks things off with metallic drums set dramatically rattling and pinging through the mix before a tough, rasping bass tone swells into focus. Patient in it’s progression, a tense, stormy tone is dialled throughout before ‘Scored’ sets a ⅞ rhythm tumbling through sharp, hissing percussion. Natural sequencing sees elements dipped in and out as more tense pressure is maintained in another fine addition to the Project 13 series.
