Alert comes to RSC after beginning to make his mark by releasing music on Beatport through Colorado underground label Dope Recordings. With this release we see Rope Swing Cities not heading in a new direction, but simply broadening the sounds we represent.
The tracks on this E.P. are most suited for peak hour on the dance floor when you’re ready to lock the crowd into a groove. The title Life In The Hive is very accurate in that sense, as the minimal rhythms and sound structures that make up each of the tracks will help to bring all listeners to a similar meditative state, where most conscious thought slips away and they find themselves only able to move in ways that the music orders them to.
The seemingly stark landscape that these tracks provide belie a subtle depth once you work your way beneath the surface. The aggressive rhythm structure and pulsing bass tones fill in the space left by the sparse synth lines and soundscapes.
As a whole, the Life In The Hive EP offers two levels of listening. On one hand a contemplative journey through the powerless existence of yet another drone, and in complete contrast, four powerful driving songs to keep things hopping during intense dj sets when you’ve got the crowd jackin’ late into the night. This is minimal techno in the purest sense of the term.
01. Life in the Hive
02. Darkwish
03. Back to the World
Remain Calm