Earlier this month Adelaide techno producer Vince Calabro aka Centerpoint released his debut standalone EP, the aptly titled Persistence. Out through London underground imprint Aesir. it offers up three fascinating and definitive cuts of hard and penetrative modular driven techno. With a dynamic intensity reflective of its track titles, it’s both a culmination of and a doubling down on his six year journey as one half of live techno duo One & One. It also considerably ups the ante on the crisp and urgent ‘Polaris’, a track he offered up mid year for Aesir’s Obstacles compilation.
Besides its raw power Persistence also possesses a sinuous like strength and despite its edgy unpredictability there is an unwavering and assured sense of purpose and cohesion. The title track is a thrilling affair, one that bursts forth with an eagerness that on takes a life of is own. It’s a development that Calabro is reluctant to restrain, allowing the modular machine’s intrepid coil like effects spin off into the ether only to return in on themselves with double the intensity creating a cacophonous rhythmic texture. ‘Determination’ commensurate with its title is a tenacious beast, its inexorable rhythm providing the focus for a battle staged in waves of intensity with each element cyclonically steadfast in its unstinting quest to be heard. Resolve exhibits a rarified yet cogent atmosphere, astutely combining a manic pace with the modicum of lightly applied restraint to everything else. The approach enables the thin saturated melodies to echo the multiple merging points where introspective deliberation meets clear eyed purpose.
As a debut, Persistence makes a musical statement that is emphatic in both design and intent. It’s effusive energy closely aligns Centerpoint as a project to Calabro’s enterprising musical approach and tenacious live performances. Importantly too, its themes of persistence, determination and resolve are representative of his humble yet varied, unassuming yet driven musical journey as an independent musician and producer that has endured over two decades. Decades containing times of struggle without doubt, but it is precisely that struggle and Calabro’s slow burn tenacity to cut through it that renders Persistence both an enticingly real and richly rewarding listen.
James Stocker – October 22, 2019
‘Resolve’ is now playing in our New Techno Playlist here on Spotify while ‘Persistence’ can now be found in our Tracks of 2019 Series: Techno.
Listen to ‘Determination’ via Spotify and Youtube below and buy a copy of the EP on Aesir Records here.
Determination
Centerpoint (AUS)
From the EP, ‘Persistence’, Aesir.
Audio Stream