New York City’s tape_hiss makes his debut on Darker Than Wax with A Linear Progression, a deep and meditative dance record born out of the pandemic’s paradigm shift. tape_hiss is an accomplished producer by any measure, with early releases on Love Notes from Brooklyn making his hardware-driven sound known worldwide, and a string of follow up releases on Axe on Wax, Just Jack, Lost Palms, and Echocentric Records solidifying his reputation as one of the deepest in the game. With A Linear Progression, the artist has approached his craft from new angles with stunning results.
While tape_hiss’s previous work had all found its genesis in a kitted-out studio, driven by melodies and chord progressions, the tracks making up A Linear Progression were all built around one tool – the MPC 1000. On weekend trips out of the city to visit family during 2020, the producer would bring only his MPC and put together these tunes, finding inspiration in its limitations and delving deep into 90s sampling techniques. After getting back to the studio, he would record what was created – sometimes nearly fully formed tracks, and other times core ideas to expand upon. The cumulation of this process was an entirely new take on the tape_hiss sound – dubby, euphoric, and exploring a wide range of tempos and beat patterns.
First single ‘W 4th Street (ACE) exemplifies this – a spacey roller thats not a club track, but would work equally well in that environment. Other standouts include ‘Energy Transfer’ with its heavily 90s-inspired electro-not-electro vibe, and the genreless ‘Heartbreaking’, constantly moving its momentum upward, yet remaining an introspective cut. More of a mixtape than a club 12”, A Linear Progression marks a step forward in the producer’s musical growth, and we are ecstatic to be here for it.