Artist: Ormatie
Title: Emoke
Label: Hope Recordings
By: Carleton Neil | 11 February 2009
Tracklist:

• 1. Emoke
• 2. She Very
• 3. Twisted Turns

Ormatie "Emoke"

2008 was a banner year for Russia's Aleksandr Sergeevich Brovkin. With a string of work under his alias Ormatie he has crossed paths with the likes of Audionova and Jay Lumen, offering up gentle, spacious remixes in stark contrast to their respective original mixes. Quickly finding his way to Nick Warren's ears, it was then onto Global Underground 035: Lima, where Nick once again took the opportunity to get out the names of some up-and-comers and included Ormatie's 'Twisted Turns'.

Dealing generally in softer percussion and lush atmospheric instrumentation with an occasional nod to the techier side of things, Ormatie has created two more tracks for his 'Emoke' EP, released on Hope Recordings.

With the title track attributed to Ormatie's late pet guinea pig, 'Emoke' opens along a path of kicks and fills against growing sustained ambiance. Adding just that touch of syncopated tech, the track chatters into triplets of percolating melodics and opens up above elastic synths, while random fills blurt out sporadically and long operatic chanting swells prior to the outro.

'She Very' comes out of the gate stronger with a tighter kick and some similar cavernous fills. The beginning of the track hinges around one deep metallic exhalation as fills pitter-patter to and fro, while drawn-out synths waver like a wary vocal captured in a dark vocoder. It is apparent that Ormatie favors extensively-programmed fills, but he balances them with his wide soundscapes and long rolling basslines that help the track glide along on sonic ball-bearings. As the track enters its second half, pianos play counterpoint as they unfold from underneath with morose chord progression, like the swansong of a robot stuck out on the moor.

The final track 'Twisted Turns' is the well-rounded progressive house track of the three, one where the percussion becomes transparent. Traditional snares and more of Ormatie's fills sprinkle onto the mix and as both the burly bass lines and harmonious synths grow with time, stringed instruments shimmer with arpeggio, locking in long musical phrases. Coming out of the breakdown, the track aims for the moon, both in pitch and intensity, settling back down upon the bassline and making its way to conclusion upon windy fills.

With the consistency of 'She Very' and 'Twisted Turns', and the fills in 'Emoke' sounding not unlike how a guinea pig might run across a Korg Pad, Ormatie, Nick Warren and Hope Recordings have a solid release on their hands. Make space for this EP between Dousk's 'D.I.Y.' and Hybrid's 'Gravastar'. 'Emoke' is out now on Hope Recordings.