Extended Play 025: Whithe - Remnants
Words by Joshua Bowling (Dream Coast)
Crafting a dystopian soundscape with a singular vision, Whithe is finishing the year strong with the Remnants EP. Across five tracks, the Slovakian born producer pulls together influences ranging from ambient electronic, techno and future garage to create a forward thinking club release.
The EP opens with the sparse ‘Remains’. An arpeggiated sequence contributes to a tense build before a beat finally arrives, distant vocals warped in a melodic loop. The ratcheting synthesiser arp soaked in delay is very reminiscent of experimental producer Rival Consoles’ work. Whithe seemingly acknowledges this influence, giving the modern ambient classic ‘Untravel’ a jittery tech update.
The gnarly bassline and four-to-the-floor rhythm of ‘Forsaken’ suddenly explodes into the foreground. The pummelling beat feels primed to collapse at any second, evoking the best moments of electronic musician Clark’s Self-titled and subsequent Flame Rave EP. Against layers of monolithic pads, an uplifting trance-like melody appears all too briefly in ‘Fifteen Million Merits’, fading into the black as the track reaches its peak.
As a resident DJ at Subclub in Bratislava (with an impressive support résumé featuring the likes of Kiasmos and Nina Kraviz), Whithe understands the flow of a club night, structuring the high and low moments of the Remnants EP as such. It is easy to imagine ‘Circles’ as the climax of a late night set, layers of reverb-heavy pads creating an emotive atmosphere on the dance floor. A future garage beat and swell of an analogue synth sequence provides release shortly after, bringing the EP to a satisfying close.