Kurs
Dreamer
Swiss Dark Nights
With its sophomore record, Italy’s Kurs has confirmed much of the optimistic speculation their 2021 debut Muter prompted. Firstly, sole member Valerio Rivieccio is someone with a deep understanding of the histories, techniques, and most importantly the potential of dark electro and electro-industrial as sub genres. Secondly, he’s someone with a clear and distinct vision of the sort of mood and experience he wants to conjure via those forms. The result is a dark, heavy, and evenly flowing record which should reward long-time rivetheads.
Kurs’ visual aesthetic up until now has pointed to a biomechanic phantasia not just in cover art but in full-blown graphic novels appended to records: half Giger, half Shadowrun. It’s a look which is reflected in the misty ambiance which enshrouds the entirety of Dreamer, with tight kernels of rhythmic programming strung atop classic dark electro basslines and percussion. While there’s plenty of swing and kick to tracks like “Air” and “Archivist”, there’s not much in the way of traditional leading melody, and by design. Instead, the pads and drones which at times hover in the background as pure ambiance shift forward to add harmonic depth to the roll of the rhythm. It’s a tactic which scratches the itch for the aggressive side of the genres Rivieccio is working with while also maintaining the eerie soundtracking vibe which is clearly of import to his vision for Kurs in particular.
Like I said, Dreamer has one foot clearly planted in post-industrial classics; you can hear some vocal nods to classic Hardwired era FLA on the rollicking “Blindcorner”, for example. But Kurs is not making such callbacks out of an appeal to myths of old-school purity. Check out the subtle strings which add some harmonic depth to the back half of “Portal”, or the utilization of the clean and sleek programming which dominated the now maligned club records of the late-00’s on “Omen” (albeit completely shrouded in the sort of acidic miasma which is Dreamer‘s larger raison d’être). A record like this is the product of someone who’s studied the breadth and depth of the industrial genre; heads should appreciate similarities between opener “Dream Domain” and the icy minimalism and precise sound design of Covenant’s Europa and the wailing portent of Interlace on “Mechanism” in equal measure.
While making such comparisons could be part of the appeal of Dreamer for some, it’s far from its primary strength. That biomechanic feel mentioned earlier is reflected in the record’s slinky unity; rather than flagging individual songs I found myself latching on to individual grooves and atmospheres as part of a gestalt whole. The hypnotic nod that any number of the synthlines or idiosyncratic squalls could produce is recapitulated in the moody yet satisfyingly mean air which unites the record, and has prompted me to keep it on loop over the past week in order to stay within its sphere of influence. Recommended.
