UK producer Untold (Jack Dunning) has a new sub-label called HBLK, an offshoot of his Hemlock Recordings imprint. The newly-minted HBLK will focus on futuristic, physical club music—the kind suited for four walls of concrete and a dripping ceiling, or even more fittingly, while wandering the charred remains of a nuclear disaster site.
In an auspicious sign of things to come, the label is kicking things off with two exceptional new tracks, "Doff" and "Phive." The former is constructed with a unforgettable, anguished guitar wail that snakes over pattering kick pads, squelchy synths, and what sounds like the hiss of an angry steam pipe. The constantly-shifting "Phive" begins with a simple guitar riff that gives way to a skeletal, post-apocalyptic soundscape, which then pivots without warning to some uplifting synth work before returning to a familiar sense of dread. This is Untold at his ominous best—a master of tension who punishes his listeners with a simmering sense of dread that starts in your stomach and works its way up to your heart."Doff" and "Phive" are out January 19 on HBLK. Pre-order them here. @MichelleLhooq