Tammo Hesselink – Mantis 07

By Marcus Cork-Keeling

Contrasting surgically precise percussion with emotive pads, this quadruple bill of thoughtfully programmed leftfield techno and bass tracks is not to be missed.

“Mantis 07” first crossed my path by way of the excellent “Hessle Audio” mix curated by the Glasgow-born Danish ex-pat, Perko. Encompassing a playful exploration of rhythm and depth, the EP exemplifies Tammo Hesselink’s masterful grasp of sound design as she unravels tense melodic ideas into texturally rich rhythmic elements to make for a thoroughly engrossing listen.

“Danaba”, the EP’s opening track, is forceful and energetic. Swimming in and out of focus between punchy, syncopated kick drums and droning sub-bass pulses, a windy synth pad carries Danaba’s melodic core with sneaker-squeak stabs complementing the off-beat. The second track “Fixed Distance” is a hypnotic broken techno number. Featuring gently hissing snares and reverberant hats, the vast sonic architecture constructed by Hesselink is populated by heavily saturated synth interjections and underlined by gently decaying pads.

“Lifted” sees the young Dutch artist explore a darker and dubbier side of her production arsenal. Chiming synths and percussive locker-slams punctuate the track, echoing into the peripheries of the soundscape. To close “Mantis 07”, “Now Attempt” is a seething musical hybrid that revisits the high tempo energy of the EP’s opener. It plays with a contrast between the immediacy of the biting kick drums and the tolling of church bells in its murky hinterland. Popping and scratching on the off-beats, frenzied digital cymbals urge the lurching drum pattern to fall in step with a skanked-out drum and bass rhythm. With each listen, it becomes eminently clear that Tammo Hesselink will be one to watch.

Posted on July 25, 2022