Taíno Gold

Description

Channeling inventive sound design into incisive, characterful techno variations, Jurango returns to Livity Sound with an eight-track double EP, his longest release to date. Taino Gold captures a historical moment in Bristol-based Nate Reece’s ever-evolving sound, drawing influence from across the spectrum of UK club music. Following on from an album on Livity’s reverse label in 2021 and last year’s An Amorphous Mass EP, Reece is more assured than ever in his approach to a variety of club-focussed tracks. The tunes on this album were all created before, during, and after a two-month stay at Reece’s grandparents’ house, an idyllic tropical setting in a small hilltop community in Northern Jamaica. Taino Gold references the island’s indigenous Taino community and a local legend of a witch luring Spanish settlers to their doom on the Martha Brae River. While the music carries no explicit message, the album serves as both a personal reflection on Reece’s experiences and family heritage, and a reminder of the persistent spectre of colonialism and the need to relentlessly oppose it. From immersion in Jamaica’s turbulent history, through visits to museums and plantations, to the luxuriant nature of the garden surrounding his grandparents’ house, this double EP marks a moment in time for Reece, with eight intricate and captivating tunes to show for it. From the cascading arps of “Black Torches” to the percussive chord stabs of “Waiting For Trelawny,” the melodic dimension to Jurango’s sound is more assertive than ever. “Hibiscus” is a shimmering celebration of dub techno and twisted rhythmic pressure, whilst “Chalk On Trees” basks in deep, watery pads to close out the EP. Elsewhere, Reece brings new textures and nuances to his drum workouts, splattering acidic noises over the angular experimentation of “Maybe It’s Broken” and chaining together double-time rhythms to imbue “Double Sevens” with a contagious urgency. Using the space afforded by a longer release, Reece broadens the scope of his artistic identity whilst immersing himself in the particular scene and context surrounding him during the creation of his tunes. Taino Gold represents a dynamic new step for Jurango, and a logical continuation of his collaboration with Livity Sound. Livity Sound is a label founded by Peverelist in 2011 to release raw and exploratory UK techno, rooted in the legacy of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since gone on to become one of the premier exponents of avant-garde underground electronic music in the UK.