Splayed Werks

Description

From the very first listen, Splayed Werks, the new album by Tyondai Braxton, his first studio album since the recording of his 2022 symphonic work, Telekinesis, reveals itself to be radically different from his previous works and marks the beginning of a new chapter with the British label Erased Tapes. First of all, it features much denser music, over 70 minutes of pure electronics and sound design. Moreover, its structure contrasts with the longer formats that the 47-year-old composer/producer has imagined until now. Of the 15 tracks on the album, more than two-thirds last less than five minutes. It could very well be the ideal album for 2026, a year where the sound landscape continues to fervently embrace increasingly radical hybrids, both tailored for club sound systems, close to art installations, and drawing inspiration from music schools. But also, and above all, intuitive and handcrafted. It can be said without exaggeration that Tyondai has helped shape this universe. His career of over twenty years has seen him co-found the electronic progressive punk band Battles (which he describes as "a laboratory disguised as a band"); perform as a duo with Philip Glass; compose numerous electroacoustic and chamber music works for renowned American contemporary music ensembles such as Bang on a Can All-Stars, Alarm Will Sound, Third Coast Percussion, Brooklyn Rider, and Yarn/Wire; present his HIVE project, both an installation and a band, at the Guggenheim Museum, the Sydney Opera House, and during a three-night residency at the Big Ears festival; and create a series of technologically ambitious works, sometimes orchestral, for renowned electronic, experimental, and futuristic music labels, Warp and Nonesuch Records. The catalog of Splayed Werks falls within a vein that blends dance music and minimalist electronic composition, a common thread that extends from the absurd figures of IDM like Aphex Twin and Autechre, to contemporary immersive artists such as Mica Levi and Laurel Halo. It is a universe where the multitude of raw rhythms ventures well beyond the grand halls of clubs – even though one can imagine expert mixers and a top-notch sound system transforming the dub and lo-fi linearity of "Oslo" into a psychedelic wonder, while the interaction between the synth bass and the constantly deviating shuffle of "UnFS" could well be described as an avant-garde and impactful track. And its rhythmless composed spaces have little to do with current ambient trends — the both aggressive and ecstatic miniature, with changing panoramas, "Realistic Water" sounds like powerful Laraaji.