Andrew Danso

The Tronix Series was a set of tunes released every month on Bandcamp from January 2011, to January 2012. Irish electro-jazz label Diatribe Records took charge of releasing the series, with the goal of bringing together musicians across diverse fields of music, and house them into one field - that field being electronic.

Tronix One is a compilation of those monthly released tracks, perhaps a 'best of the series'. Despite it being compilation light, Tronix is closer to a celebration of individuality.

Tronix One opens with Cignol's “Loose Concrete”, that's similar to something heard on Autechre's LP5. It's a cold trip-hop experiment, relaxed in a groove with a freezing melody on top. Enda Bates produces something much warmer in tone. His award winning track, “Pulse”, is a bright affair, rubbing shoulders with Lemon Jelly in an upbeat and booming rhythm, while Haci's "Frindle" is an ambient work, reminiscent of eastern artist Floex (otherwise known as video-game composer Tomas Dvorak).

ZoiD's “Istanbul Dub” is close to something Deadbeat would've created under the retired German label Scape. It's a dub tune at its centre, with all of the melody created by the natural timbre of jazz.

The final two tracks of Tronix are both improvisations and they hide the soul of a good old racket. Ultimately, this is technology and plotted algorithm on show, with the jazz improv playing second fiddle. Though that may seem like a criticism, it suits the complex nature of the entire album. What Tronix boils down to, is that it's a noisy experiment, with jazz & electronica fighting for centre stage.

Tronix @ Diatribe.ie