YLTCU – Controlled Folly

In a brief encounter reminiscent in part of Autechre or Aphex Twin (think Drukqs), this week we stumbled across the Ambient/IDM bliss/carnage of YLTCU’s Controlled Folly. This record has been put together across 26 minutes and 14 tracks, featuring glitchy computer effects, jungle and footwork drumloops and moments of lush Ambience.

Grimey beats and overly effected electronics are often best left to documentaries and film to give a futuristic aesthetic and I’ve never really found an album where it’s listenable for much more than a track or two. In the case of ‘Controlled Folly’, control is very much the operative word, since this artist has given careful consideration to telling a story, using silence and noise deftly as an album experience. This makes the whole thing so listenable, likely pleasing Junglists, Noise and Techno heads as well as fans of more melodic genres such as Ambient or House. The term Electronica is often a useful label to cover a body of work where there is no set style, pattern or framework. All too often you’ll hear an album labelled as Electronica but really, a genre label can be applied. Here, YLTCU has put together something that fits this label perfectly, as the madness unfolds.