Stellar Om Source

The first taster of Stellar Om Source’s upcoming LP for RVNG Intl., Joy One Mile, ‘Elite Excel’ comes backed with a fantastically brooding remix from Kassem Mosse. Christine Gualdi’s vision of electronic music has expanded since we last checked in; tantric analogue drone sequences have given way to more rugged future-city constructions inspired by her investigation of the roots of New York electro and Detroit techno. ‘Elite Excel’ begins in a nocturnal cruise mode reminiscent of early Carl Craig, before Gualdi unleashes an ebullient barrage of retro synth arpeggios and criss, cross-hatching snap-claps; it’s nifty new age braindance that bucks the conventional 4/4 grid while stopping short of all-out abstraction. Kassem Mosse aces it with his version, turning out a haptic techno chugger that reminds of Sand Circles or SOS’s labelmate Maximillion Dunmar, but tougher, druggier, more complex. Be warned: objects in the rearview mirror may appear closer than they are.