The Bug

(This article’s English version was produced with AI-assisted translation)

Dystopian, pounding, with a palpable anxiety that sounds like the noise of a cybernetic apocalypse, bursting with measured distortion and tons of low frequencies that mercilessly shatter a mechanical, fiery soundscape. Kevin Richard Martin is no stranger to these dark inclinations, with a thirty-year career boasting projects like Techno Animal, King Midas Sound, and a myriad of other sonic entities, a resume that would make any electronic scene veteran envious. His inclination towards fluid industrial sounds and the hopeless roads of a decaying future have always been central to his vision, and "Machines" is no exception.

This is a compilation, a collection of five EPs released between 2023 and 2024, marked by raw, almost possessed drum machines, brutal basslines, and a metal-like dimension. Forget the grime flair of "Skeng": here, the sonic material has a different depth. With an excessively muscular brute force, Martin attempts to ignite dub paradigms, building what feels like a futuristic dancehall for the dead, somewhere between Milanese’s Extend ("Buried (Your Life Is Short)") and Mad Professor’s Possessed ("Possessed (The Light of Shaka)").

The journey through bionic debris and mechanical spirits ("Gutted (Human Filth)") is sometimes lethal, but at other times distinctly bland, as if all this ferocity translates only into self-referentiality. It's hard not to be perplexed by this sensation, especially when the sonic warmth is at least mesmerizing, designed for the most powerful sound systems and for the most daring listeners.

While the considerations on brutality create an undeniably satisfying diversion, it's rare for the themes—especially in the first half of the work—to leave a lasting impression beyond the alienating rhythmic pounding and the intoxicating oppressive experience. "Vertical (Never See You Again)" is one of the exceptions, where a tortured soul emerges, but in other cases, it feels like the product remains volcanic yet overly drawn out, a howl of incandescent beats that, more often than not, leads to distancing due to indifference rather than immersion in its fury.

11/02/2025