Lapien / Metropolis Marchland EP

Nick Lapien has been sharpening his music sound a number of monikers; Metropolis, Nepal and his own name. On labels like Other Heights and Sequencias the Dutch man has moulded smoke stained Chicago, textured Techno and drifting Ambient. For Photic Fields this homegrown talent brings together two of his nom de plums under the banner of Marchland. Basslines bulge, pressing against dampened claps for "Ballad of a Man." Banks of harmony drift off an analogue ocean, arcs of string dawning into a rich radiance. Submerged notes bend and blur with "Bobby Konders", streams of synth flowing past columns of carved percussion. Rolling chords see Lapien don his Metropolis mask for "Black Motor Boogie." Acid vultures circle with beady eyed intent, claws writhe and flex amidst a flurry of beat and pad. The shimmering keys of "The Gatekeeper" takes the listener throw a winding pass. Curving 303 contortions fold and reform under pressurised bursts of tom, cymbal and snare to end this journey into Marchland.