Premiere: Minotaur Shock – Qua

The pebbles fitted into his hand perfectly, like he was supposed to find them. They were almost identical – light grey, satisfyingly smooth, both almost spherical, like mini moons. The body of water in front of him was so calm and so still, but the temptation to throw the pebbles in and cause momentary yet satisfying chaos was strong. He threw them in one at a time and as each of the stones breached the surface of the water the ripples flowed outwards from the points of impact, vibrating through the water, merging and reflecting to create new geometry.

The Bristolian producer David Edwards, aka Minotaur Shock, returns to Bytes in 2021 with Qi, a six-track suite of inventive electronic compositions produced on a single bit of kit – the Electron Digitone synthesiser. These precision engineered tracks, mostly recorded in one take with no overdubs, recall golden-age IDM and 90s electronic music of the Rephlex/Warp school, from AFX to Autechre.

‘Qua’ has a dancefloor-friendly thrust, with chunky bass thwacks, unusual percussive tones and an array of bright synth lines that zip around the mix in a manner that is both rhythmic and melodious at the same time.

Qi is released on Bytes on January 29, 2021, available digitally and on a limited edition 12”, which is exclusive to Bleep. Pre-order HERE.