Alex Dolby is a long-serving artist who continues to evolve his productions and enjoys experimenting with ideas and new concepts. ‘Functional Elements’ is a collection of surprisingly unconventional techno, where the key is to experiment with textures and analogue gear. Celebrating 20 years of releasing music in 2023, Alex has appeared on John Digweed’s Bedrock and Global Underground in the past, but more recently he has contributed to the superb Modularz imprint run by Developer, Marco Bailey’s MB Elektronics and Emmanuel’s ARTS.
The opening track “Function One” has a half-time kick and a bubbling pad combination over gritty clicks and static flickers seems an abstract theme, but with melancholic strings that appear later it adds a deep sense of emotion to this charming piece.
“Function Four” welcomes a punchy kick drum to the collection with a broken beat and detuned bleeps over stabbing, rolling bass notes that are alive with modular energy.
“Function Five” uses sparse kicks and gritty textures to create sea-like waves of sonic artistry. A slow tension builds while a sense of emotive expression is created from the melancholic synth drones that appear from the depths.
“Function Eight” wastes no time drawing you into its surreptitious web of sound with a stuttering broken beat and hypnotic, morphing progressions.
Alex’s cinematic approach is poetic and most certainly different as he has created a standalone project for purists and sound lovers alike who will enjoy and appreciate these sci-fi creations.
You can pick up a copy of the album HERE.
