Ametsub’s “Precipice Drive” Sounds Like The Shadow Of A Human Hand

In a screen-mediated world, how do we communicate humanness on an aesthetic level? We are all versed in the cues: an unfinished edge on a sweater, a font that recalls screen-printed unevenness. In electronic music, my ears often bend toward sounds that suggest analog interference, like the atomized fizz of a switched dial. Maybe it's the shadow of a human hand I am searching for. There are plenty of ghosts in the machine of Tokyo producer Ametsub's "Precipice Drive," the otherwise bubbly lead track from his forthcoming Sky Droppin’ EP, which will be released by FaltyDL's Blueberry Recordings.

Ametsub, a one-time collaborator of eminent composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, named the track after the nail-biting time he "drove the most dangerous road in Iceland" back in 2008. "I just wanted to make a very simple but strong track; neither techno nor house," Ametsub told The FADER over email. "I thought that only nondescript kick and hi-hat were enough for the beat. But I needed strong melody of strong synth, [to sound] like feel-high mountain and cave dub. [After] trial and error, I made it finally."

Blueberry Recordings will release Sky Droppin’ on May 13.