Several years after her debut behind the turntables, the "spiritual little sister of Gessafelstein" plunges into the big bath. Rezz, a young Canadian barely 22 years old, finally delivers his first album. A rich eight titles perfectly in his image: dark, sick and supported.
Despite a career of the most recent, Isabelle 'Rezz' Rezazadeh seems to have come a long way. Mass Manipulation, the first long-play of the Canadian's career, is a perfect synthesis of the particular style she has enjoyed working with since she began composing. We are talking about a slow, pictorial Techno. Sounds reminiscent of science fiction B-movies, with what they feature of slimy aliens and globular monsters. A first album that sounds like an invitation to enter the already recognizable universe of Rezz.
We do not arrive in uncharted territory with Mass Manipulation. For good reason: the first two titles of the record are the singles Relax and Diluted Brains. Of unequal strength, the two tracks nevertheless have the merit of offering listening to two of the most representative facets of Rezz's music. On the one hand, we have a start with a bass rhythm, saturated with bass and very cyclical reminiscent of the unforgettable Fourth Impact. On the other, an equally indolent dive into the most unhealthy part of the composer. Diluted Brains features a dirty atmosphere and a pernicious melody making listening almost impure. These are the two axes of rotation of the planet Rezz.
Hypnosis
We have to wait for the third track of the album to discover an unreleased. I mean, almost. Premonition will certainly remind the savvy of Gessafelstein's Pursuit tube. The wink ready to smile (Rezz loves to include it in his live sets), but we tense a little when we list the similarities. At this level, we do not really go far from plagiarism.
Back in familiar environment with DRUGS!, which officiated as the third single of the album. Very low title, he makes the choice to abandon all melody. Drop on its own, the track is calibrated for cervical ruptures live. A transition of the best chosen, for the absolute banger of this first album: LIVID.
A surge of acid set in 45 seconds, and off you go. Rezz lets go of the bridle, and makes his horses start at a triple gallop. The result is a melodious, aggressive track that is as noisy as it is cathartic. Undoubtedly one of the best titles that the Canadian has composed. The cardio calms down on the next track. Green Gusher will not be a landmark, but offers a glimpse of what Rezz knows how to do in scratch, and helps to diversify an album whose coherence could harm – in the long run – the pleasure of listening.
Press (re)play
Since we are talking about coherence, Synesthesia serves as a textbook case. The title alone could become the producer's identity card. At the big musical bingo like Rezz, he ticks all the boxes. Simple and asphyxiating melody, overwhelming bass and patapouf rhythm crushing the listener under a techno / dubstep chappe. Not necessarily the best vintage for connoisseurs, but a nice introduction for those who discover the artist.
End of race as surprising as explosive for Mass Manipulation, with Ascension. Title with evocative title, as it poses as the exact opposite of the inaugural Relax . Brilliantly mixing dubstep, techno or trance sounds (the few guitar notes remind us of the best of Infected Mushroom), the featuring with Kotek does not leave us hungry, and closes in a happy way a short but dense album.
Already rich in a sparse discography, between inspired collaborations and catch-all EPs, Rezz offers with his first album a kind of curriculum of his know-how, which no listener even remotely sensitive to electronic music can resist. The whole forms a record of crazy coherence, completing to sign with noble letters the stone that Rezz has been bringing for years already to the techno edifice.
Pierre Crochart
