Clesse - Clesse (2019)

The eponymously-titled debut album from Clesse finds Jon Brooks (Ghost Box Records, The Advisory Circle, The Pattern Forms) traversing new territory, through his own Café Kaput imprint - this being the ninth release on the label, since its’ inception in 2010.

With Clesse, Brooks channels the soundscapes of John Carpenter films, classic techno (think Carl Craig, Juan Atkins), electro and the drone works of Alessandro Cortini, to create a dark, compelling lost world of square waves, driving analogue rhythms and scattered melodies. A diverse record, at times abrasive, at other times playful and melodically structured, it conjures an illustrative, brutalist landscape of fragmented tones and hues.

With Brooks’ Ghost Box labelmate Martin Jenkins (Pye Corner Audio) co-writing the track Yara, under his techno guise Head Technician, the two producers create a hefty, barbiturate groove that hangs heavy in the night air.

Includes stunning sleeve art (front and rear covers, individual track art) by Ian Hodgson (Blank Workshop) and a video for the track Shmarn.