The US producer and live electronic innovator Tunnel has dropped his first new track since last year’s EP Interlinked. It’s a ferocious piece of design, and previews the forthcoming album Personas. ‘Control’ is heavy-hitting, bass-blending, and brimming with hardcore breakbeats and screaming synthesisers. It turns industrial techno and jungle into something punishing and unimaginable.
Opening fast and never truly letting off the gas, the track wastes no time descending into a barrage of drums and sonic screams, through them, softening, ghostly vocals emerge before being pulled back beneath the surface. It’s a masterclass of the Tunnel sound, raw and meticulously precise.
On the album, Tunnel reveals, “With Personas, I wanted to break free from the constraints of a specific genre and create something that reflects the range of my musical obsessions, while building a narrative throughout,” says Tunnel. “The album reflects something that doesn’t fit into a neat and easily described box. It’s a sonic journey, shifting and evolving like a living entity, all in the service of emotion and a narrative of personal transformation. It’s equal parts dystopian and hopeful. I love music that refuses to play by the rules of specific genres, and Personas is my way of embracing that ethos.”
Behind the alias stands Ryan Miller, a prolific producer who has emerged under several monikers before channelling a vision into the Tunnel project and label webuildmachines. His reputation is cerebral and physical, in a self-described techno-language.
The single is out now…
