SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NICOLAS BOUGAÏEFF – EP1

NICOLAS BOUGAÏEFF
EP1
NOVA MUTE

Nicolas Bougaïeff, is a Berlin transplanted Canadian electronic musician who emerged in the early 2000s. Since then, he has amassed a notable discography with his most impactful contributions often associated with the renowned label Mute Records.

Bougaïeff comes with considerable techno provenance including having worked with Canadian icon Richie Hawtin on his Plastikman live tour, founded the Berlin Academy of Electronic Music and played as a DJ at such meccas as Berghain.

He hits the ground running hard in 2024 with the latest installment of his NovaMute techno series, the generically entitled EP1. To be honest, the first listen sounded as generic as the EP title but once you move past the expertly programmed drums (which can create a monotony if you don’t move past them) the story of each track unfolds.

The lead track “Primal Express” features layers of elastic synth lines, rolling drum funk and at one point the sound of a resounding train horn (the sound of which always brings me back to the KLFs Chill Out album, genre notwithstanding). “Obviate Thought” is a more psychedelic track blended with some industrial sounds and haunting soundscapes that would play well in a large techno venue. Last of all is “Concrete Love,” a gritty and glitchy techno pumper with mind-melting loops and scratchy synth textures, peeling off its percussion as the whole track powers on unrelentingly. This track and EP1 hits that concrete suddenly, with unmistakable finality.

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