Selector’s Sounds series follows a procedure that puts music quality before status or industry relationships. Learn how it works.
The latest effort by techno/experimental outfit Group has found a home on Subsist Records. Agriculture, as it’s titled, sees the Spanish label partner with Guinean imprint Faith Disciplines, who have previously championed the anonymous project’s work. It released in digital and vinyl format on February 17th.
The six tracks comprising Agriculture exhibit hallmarks of minimal, hard and dub techno, but manifesting differently from one concept to the next. Saturation and lack of brightness are common features throughout the EP, with an emphasis on reverb delay and sonic negative space throughout.
Compared to Agriculture, Group’s previous releases have fallen into the experimental category with little techno influence to speak of. 2019’s Esoteric Free Afrika and last year’s Folkcore Vol. 1 each meld tribal music with avant-garde sound design, occasionally hinting at industrial and drone.
“Perhaps, and to disorientate us even more, we can discover with this new album something more about their past,” reads the release description. “Agriculture is a different release; this time Group doesn’t just stick to his degraded style and shows us that whoever is behind this project most likely had a past as a techno producer.”
Agriculture is available in digital format and as a limited 12-inch vinyl record via Subsist Records Bandcamp.