4 out of 5

Label: Warp Records

Produced by: Richard D. James

This EP absolutely kills, and the only reason it’s not perfect is a stupid one: I lose the thread why this is / was released under Polygon Window, except that it gave RDJ another cut at Quoth. Otherwise, this is all banging, harsh techno, more in line with how James pushed the limits of the genre through BPM workout Dideridoo, or the blasts of noise-as-beats on later Bubblebaths, than with the danceable melodics of Surfing on Sine Waves. This is best represented in the Quoth remix itself: the original has a heavy beat, but it’s on the off-beat, and its other percussion elements align with the somewhat softened synth sounds of the album. Meanwhile, ‘Wooden Thump Mix’ goes on-beat – which registers as much more aggressive – and layers on incredibly metallic percussion, adding to the vibe of the title that this one was derived in a workshop or mill or so on. Before this, Iketa is another rush of drill-like beats, non-stop, that parallels some work on Sine Waves, but in a more breathless fashion that feels counter to what the album was about. The cover art feels like it’s telling this story: compare Sine Waves distant photo of someone surfing – outdoors; nature-focused – to Quoth’s pic of a feisty RDJ heading down some subway stairs: it’s more direct; it’s underground and less accessible. (Yes, this image was on the inside of Sine Waves, but putting it front and center as the cover fits my narrative.)

‘Bike Pump Meets Bucket,’ closing out the set, is a bit of an oddball, with a very organic, funky bass that feels of later-era Aphex. It’s an amazingly quirky track, feeling of a pair with Sine Waves’ rereleased addition, ‘Redruth School,’ as that was kind of an outlier there as well.

Every song on here kills. The two Quoth takes are absolutely distinct enough for the double coverage; I’m just being a ponce by questioning how this fits under the Polygon Window banner, as the EP feels very distinct from the main release, even if using a shared track as a springboard.

Early versions of Quoth had another remix of the title track – not covered here.