I’m sure I’m not alone in having my initial Hyperdub exposure facilitated by the very first Burial release, but around the time that the UK label was beginning to establish itself as a reliable source for generally moody music teeming with sub-bass, Toru Koda a.k.a. Quarta330 was one among more than a dozen artists who graciously contributed their sounds to an early Steve Goodman-led org. The Tokyo-based Koda had a hand in three singles that were released via the label prior to 2010, and if those credits alongside other producers weren’t enough to insist on his relevancy in the label’s history, the first Hyperdub compilation, out in 2009, featured a track of Quarta330’s very own. “Bleeps from Outer Space” was a bouncy tune chippy enough to stave off an annual desire to go back and play an 1980s video game. It’s too bad a full-length album never came of it.
Fortunately, the next best thing has come of it several years later, as Quarta330 has just announced his new Pixelated EP, out January 27 on the topical label. Shades of his decidedly chiptune early days exist, but more than anything, this new release is a solidly produced effort that beckons the opposite of Koda’s relatively sporadic and short official releases thus far. Start clamoring, Hyperdub and Quarta330 fans!
Here’s the pre-order page via Bandcamp, and check the track “Yatagarasu” below:
Pixelated tracklisting:
01. Resonate 3
02. The Fairies’ Homecoming
03. Yatagarasu
04. Digital Lotus Flower
More about: Quarta330
