Per Hammar – Sidewinder EP

Glasgow’s Craigie Knowes rarely passes up the chance to indulge its love of protracted minimalism and faintly eccentric dancefloor electronics, making Swedish producer Per Hammar an especially comfortable fit for the label. ‘Sidewinder’ opens in full tunnel-vision mode, all rolling bass pressure and tightly clipped drums engineered for dancers staring intently at the floor at 5am. ‘Viper’ strips things back even further, teasing tiny flickers of effects and skeletal percussion across a framework so locked-in it borders on narcotic. Then comes ‘Afterglow’, which loosens the tension with glowing stabs and a melodic swell. ‘Mono Boy’ closes things out in dubbed-out territory, scattering echoing synth fragments through the mix like cigarette smoke curling towards a basement ceiling.