Upper Regions – Sky System
Release Track list:
1. Noise Of Pleasure
2. Sky System
3. Disengage
4. Sky System (Fear the Priest Remix)
5. Sky System (Pulse Plant Remix)
6. Sky System (Ki Remix)
Following a pair of remixes for Ki’s Soft Exchange EP released on Woodwork in 2019, Upper Regions touches down with his own fierce EP, supported by a set of well connected remixes, including a reciprocal remix from Ki.
The first taste of this flexed collection is the sparse, dark stomper ‚Noise of Pleasure‘, and that it is. One thing apparent in all of Upper Regions‘ music is his knack for purposefully jarring arrangements. We’re guided through Noise of Pleasure by a series of modules and sections that are simultaneously connected and detached. We can never be sure if we’re on the way up or the way down, but the resulting ride is only that more intense for it.
Extending perfectly from the opener, the lead single ‚Sky System‘ is entry to the next level. A similar robotic sound set takes on darker detail as the story becomes more drastic, narrated by a disaffected vocal revealing an inescapable metallic and mechanical assimilation.
‚Disengage‘ drones ahead relentlessly with hard intentions. Some classic rave inspired melodic themes and gigantic pumping hoover drones add some familiar character but the whole affair remains absolutely untamed.
For remixes we get a carefully assembled dream team beginning with Fear the Priest, who lights a match to ‚Sky System‘ while we sit back, see it melt and hear it sizzle. Next up Pulse Plant creates malfunction in the central processing unit, twisting ‚Sky System‘ into a jittery and pulverizing floor-pounder. Closing out, the Ki remix of ‚Sky System‘ dares to rebuild its destructive mechanisms over a disco clap, adding some eery bleep melodies and dark choral hits.
Artist Bio:
With releases on Spliced Vinyl, Spins & Needles, Editions Sordid, Cosmetiq, Slice, and Teknofonic, Upper Regions (Jim Roditis) is rapidly spreading his territory with a signature approach to techno and other electronic music forms. His releases are marked by dark sound design and bold use of structure and arrangement, a modern sound with undeniable hints at years of diverse musical experiences…
Upper Regions has performed live PA at a number of clubs and festivals, including: Out There at Handlebar (Toronto 2018), CTRL Room livestream (Toronto 2018) headlining at AANSF festival (Quebec 2018), label launch party by Low Noise at Pour Boys (Ottawa 2018), Perfect Organism at Bassline (Toronto 2018), and at AANSF festival (Quebec 2019)
Label Info:
Woodwork Recordings first emerged in the late 1990s, releasing early incarnations of tech house on vinyl EPs with full-length live mixes on cassette. After vanishing for a 15 year hiatus, the label rekindled its past and began a second run, branching off into wider sonic territory. Deliberately free of any singular definable sound, Woodwork is committed simply to craft, substance, and diversity…
