Eomac - Cracks (Planet Mu)

https://eomac.bandcamp.com/album/cracks

One half of Lakker and one of my favorite producers, Eomac, is back with his new album (first on Planet Mu).  Preview tracks sound LUSH.

Don't know if I can wait til Mid April!

Preview tracks sound really good! 

Ian McDonnell is an Irish producer living in Wicklow near Dublin. Alongside his solo releases as Eomac he's also one half of the duos Lakker, noeverything and Lena Andersson.

'Cracks' represents a change of scenery and a change of practice from his previous two albums which were both conceptualised from the outset and recorded while living in Berlin. In contrast 'Cracks' was made in a beautiful rural part of Ireland without any outside pressure. These circumstances allowed Ian to wipe the slate clean and make an album guided by his mood on any particular day, connecting into the subtle power of his new environment and reflecting it, rather than working to please the suffocating demands of clublife. The title 'Cracks' comes from the idea that, to quote Leonard Cohen, a crack is "how the light gets in", but also of course it's a title that bears witness to the cracks fomenting in the world right now.

The music comes across with depth and passion, sounding deep and mossy with Eomac's penchant for punchy, shuffling drums underpinning the emotive tracks. From the off, the furious 'Mandate For Murder' flips and repeats Akala's protest about systemic racism, rushing deep into the panicked sirens of 'Portuguese Man O' War'. The album settles into a sense of mystery, wildness and dark otherworldliness with the foggy drone and timber kick of 'Ancient Self' reflecting the awe and spiritual connections to his new environment, much like the gorgeous strings and aqueous bleeps of 'Seashells' or the pitch-shifted shoegaze of 'Prophetess'. At other points it responds to the human condition, for instance the cathartic 'Falling Through the Cracks' where a broken scream is pitted against clattering drums. At other moments it simply reaches out; 'Reasons to Live's' whispered mantra of "I know you are loved by somebody" is gently insistent.

It ends with a reference to a place he's left behind, seen through the lens of nature. 'All the Rabbits in the Tiergarten' could be a missing track from Aphex's Ambient Works, albeit with cut-up scissoring drums. The album is a fruitful move, inwards and forwards.

https://planet.mu/releases/cracks/

Love that cover.

  On 2/5/2021 at 8:54 PM, Extralife said:

Love that cover.

agreed, done by Konx-om-Pax and someone else. animated version there as well 

tunes sound interesting enough so far, but gonna have to give them a listen with the whole of the album ofc

OK, I officially love What Does Your Heart Tell You? Hopefully the rest of the album lives up to this high bar, but I may have to pre-order just so I can put this gem into some mixes.

sounding super good. stoked to hear the rest of it. 

  On 3/5/2021 at 5:26 AM, bronchuseven said:

OK, I officially love What Does Your Heart Tell You? Hopefully the rest of the album lives up to this high bar, but I may have to pre-order just so I can put this gem into some mixes.

Just preordered on bandcamp.

So SO good. Easily his best set of tracks since Spectre. 

nice stuff so far!

Ancient Self is really working for me.

This is great, I consider myself pretty well versed in this scene but this artist is brand new to me.

Really strong first impression, the best new album I've heard on Mu in a while. Anything else I should check out?

  On 4/17/2021 at 11:13 PM, six said:

This is great, I consider myself pretty well versed in this scene but this artist is brand new to me.

Really strong first impression, the best new album I've heard on Mu in a while. Anything else I should check out?

Yes! The Spectre album is also excellent, as is most of the early Lakker eps and the Tundra album.  

  On 4/18/2021 at 12:05 AM, Extralife said:

Yes! The Spectre album is also excellent, as is most of the early Lakker eps and the Tundra album.  

Awesome, thank you, will check those out!

He is carrying the SAW II/Poloygon Window era techno torch...and taking it in whole new directions.

I can’t stop playing this album.

  On 4/18/2021 at 4:50 PM, six said:

Awesome, thank you, will check those out!

Also check out his Bedouin Trax record 

https://bedouinrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bedouin-trax

falling through the cracks scares me

Yeah that one is intense!

Yes.

Eomac retweeted my mix featuring a track from this album - cheers Ian!

https://twitter.com/dj_sriracha/status/1387125399524622338?s=19