The year 2022 opens for Gudu Records (Peggy Gou‘s label) with a new EP called Purple Brain, created and produced by Brain De Palma, one of several aliases used by Alexei Versino.
Versino, a Ukrainian by birth, whose family moved away from the Chernobyl disaster and settled in Italy’s Detroit, Turin. There he became interested in the local Techno scene, and his love of electronica has remained unshaken since those days in the Piedmont capital. But in the end, the magnet of Berlin finally attracted him and he settled there for good.
Although this is only his second release under the Brain De Palma alias, Alexei Versino has been working for most of the last decade, both as a solo artist and Panama Keys, as well as one half of the duo Stump Valley.
During his career he has been on labels such as Dekmantel, but this is already the second EP on Gudu Records, being part of the crew of the label founded by the Korean. Alexei continues in the vein of her first EP on Gudu, Call Me By Your Nail, which was released almost a year ago.
The opening track, IQarus, exploits a percussive line that could be used for any Techno track, but is accompanied by a bouncy, analogue-laden melody. The second track is the remix of IQarus by Dutchman Reynier Hooft, better known as Deniro, who strips the original to create spaces that roam almost Minimal Techno with cosmic touches in an excellent work.
Then comes the EP’s title track, Purple Brain, a torrent of analogue sounds close to 8-bit in its rhythmic pattern with a beautiful melody that breaks up the robotic beginning. Closing the track is (O.W.D.) Once Were Dancers, perhaps our favourite along with the Deniro remix. Once Were Dancers outlines a fast-paced rhythmic base, which doesn’t let go throughout the song, powerful but without stridency.
All this with the always attractive packaging of Gudu Records products, where the graphic aspect is taken care of as much as the inside of their products. An excellent way to start the year.
Available now here
