P002 – PHOTONZ – WEO / Chunk Hiss

Vinyl 12″ / Digital
Written and produced by Photonz, mastered by Tó Pinheiro da Silva,
artwork by Márcio Matos

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Photonz revelam uma das suas bombas certificadas, “WEO”, quase um grito de guerra no centro de um som que enche o espaço da pista. “Chunk Hiss” parece revisitar as paragens à beira-mar recentemente mostradas no disco de Sangue de Cristo (Photonz + Tiago), um longo desenvolvimento a partir da orla costeira em direcção ao interior – interpretado como quiserem. Mas a relativa melancolia de Sangue de Cristo é substituída por uma postura mais assertiva e sintética, no sentido laboratorial de procurar a síntese dos elementos justos para conseguir um efeito prático. Ambas as faixas neste disco deixam espaço à reflexão, para quem gosta de seguir o som, mas não ignoram – digamos – a raiz da questão: transformar os elementos químicos primordiais em nova energia rítmica.
Flur, November 2011

Photonz return on Principe with two of their most robust tracks to date, supposedly a contemporary take on their pre-teen infatuation with rave music. It’s immediately audible in the opening bars of “WEO”, as a serrated fax-machine bass mingles with hyperactive vocal snippets. But the real feelings of nostalgia come from the dry square wave bassline, punctuated with the kind of throwback 90s melodies that Lone has building his productions out of for the last few years, but rather than let them dominate as he does, Photonz use it as a garnish for an 11-minute techno beast. “Chunk Hiss”, with its deeply saturated hiss, jacking rhythms and weird seagull-sampling intro could easily be mistaken for a Legowelt production, before launching into 808 State style rhythmic insanity. Highly recommended.
Juno, January 2012

Príncipe drop the second release in their opening salvo. Photonz will be familiar to most due to a plethora of release over the last few years. Here on Príncipe they deliver some super nasty rave inspired business. “Weo” is hard to categorize, or rather it takes a variety of motifs and idents and converges them into one warehouse-friendly cut. UK Warp-era bleeps and squeals, a chugging Detroitian bassline, retro drum boxes and a European techno aesthetic to the production (ie. let it get heavier and dirtier and more distorted as the track builds!) make this one hell of a club cut, guaranteed to set the dancefloor on fire. A super long arrangement takes us through a variety of dynamics, from brooding middle sections to crazy looped up breakdowns dropping to almost white noise distortion and back to the crazy, wigged-out bassline groove. A full on dancefloor trip. “Chunk Hiss” is no different – a full frontal attack on the senses. Hats and woodblocks rattle and roll while flanging atmospheres disorientate the listener. Aggressively hypnotic, this is sure to see kids stumbling about losing their bearings behind the speaker stacks. Layers of confusion and ‘airplane down a runway’ sounds are added throughout the duration, building to a mighty crescendo of rattling percussion that even Plastikman would be proud off. Totally devastating and very unique sounding global techno sounds for the worldwide freaks and weirdoes. Most recommended.
Picadilly Records, January 2012

Heavy trippin’, all-analogue acid house aces from Portugal’s Photonz duo. Powered by a snaking square bass line, layers of classic, UK-sounding bleeps, explosive FX and possessed vocal stabs seethe and syncopate in a slab of pure dancefloor turmoil. Lock this in at the right moment and heads will be gone; trust us! Flipside the tempo is pushed up for ‘Chunk Hiss’. Lysergic seagulls sh*t from above while pensive synths build tension, precipitating a mighty, Tom-powered House groove losing its mind to tweaking, wavy synthlines. Imagine being on the Atlantic coast at dawn, chewing your face off and dancing a hole in the sand, listening to this. Class.
Boomkat, January 2012

Funky House track that goes up in the electronic sound that is dynamic textured wax which is built in analog equipment A full! I am finished in single powerful glue of a nasty rhythm initial basis Chicago swells! ! Recommended! ! !
Google translated from Technique, August 2013

Fierce techno mutations from Photonz on the Principe imprint currently getting hugely deserved recognition for its next level club-ooted floor-fillers. A-Side ‘Weo’ mixes elements of classic rave with a sensibility of a production unit having digested everything since, elements of techno, grime, bass all melded together to devastating effect. While on the flip side ‘Chunk Hiss’ is a raw house cut with spiralling synth textures and robust drums melded together to create a sound like nothing else you will hear right now.
Bleep, February 2015

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