‘Foreign Awake Pt.1’ set the tone with a series of strung out, spacy vistas. Three chillingly subtle and pensive pieces, far removed from the pair’s usual brew of anxious, distortion-heavy techno productions that can be found on their co-run Vault Series outlet. Using EDLX to step away from the dancefloor a little, ‘Foreign Awake Pt.1’ saw the Berlin-based duo tap into headier climes using loops and tingling atmospheres with the faintest of heartbeats. ‘Foreign Awake Pt.2’ picks up the pace, however, with three more “Textures” halfway between ‘Pt.1’’s ethereal wanderings and the pair’s deeper Vault Series offerings.

On the A-side “Texture 1.1” and “Texture 1.2” wraps typical Vault tropes with acid-washed melodies and grainy distorted pads, turning two rusty, hydraulic workouts into weirder and warmer dancefloor reliefs. “Texture 5” then, on the B-side, concludes with more yin and yang experiments, pooling ‘Foreign Awake’’ gentler, dream-like sentiments together with punishing bass, splices of hats and mechanical modulations that keep the reverie in check; a must for Sawlin & Subjected fans, and anyone who likes their techno a little on the stranger side.

Sawlin & Subjected – Textures – by EDLX’s in-house designer Jan Willem van den Ban Consistent with their music and profile, the artwork for the Sawlin & Subjected releases had to be similarly dark and enigmatic.

Revealing little of what’s inside, the cover gives only the slightest hint, but just enough to trigger curiosity. Dark and underground aren’t necessarily synonymous with black, so the insides reveal a world rich of sound and colour, step by step.

A1 – Texture 1.1
A2 – Texture 1.2
B1 – Texture 5
Label Copy:
All tracks written and produced by Ronnie Sawlin and Subjected

(p)&(c) 2014 Electric Deluxe
cat. no. EDLX035 – all rights reserved