London based producer Sigha’s (James Shaw) debut album Living With Ghosts has been greatly awaited since his already eleven releases on Scuba’s Hotflush label. The album, out next week, opens the door into the dark and brooding world of Sigha. His twelve track LP is pure unwavering, dark and brooding techno. There’s no messing around here, lovers of his previous releases will be pleased to know the album is deeper exploration into Sigha’s brooding world than his previous releases.
Strangely hypnotic, with faster and beats and washing-over-you-effects, I found myself utterly transfixed by nearly ever track, after closing the blinds to make my room much darker completely shifted Sigha’s work into a much scarier and intense place.
‘Puritan’ is one of my favourite tracks on the album, its back beat reminds me of someone gulping on loop. The washing in and out effects and minimal noises make for an eerie and slow build to the break from the stomping bass hits only for them to drop back into the mix and continue the eerie-ness.
‘Suspension’ lives up to its name, being an ethereal break from the dark beats. The track is still hiding a small piece of menace under the crackling samples and warped keyboard though, not a total suspension then.
The penultimate track ‘She Kills in Ecstasy’ has a hammering drum line with an underlying of what I can only describe as steel drums. Pulsating keys make the over the chaotic beat holds it all together, I adore the ting gaps Sigha has put in, they break up the track just enough not to make it monotonous. At the climax the beat abruptly stops, leaving the slow pulsating keys to weave their magic over the rest of the track.
Jamiel
