Discrepant / UK / 2025
On his Discrepant debut memotone aka Bristolian Will Yates collects some unreleased recordings under a most aptly titled name - Pruning - following a healthy stream of releases for such esteemed labels as Black Acre, The Trilogy Tapes or Soda Gong.
Considering the process of pruning as a practice of selective removal, the album takes its name at face value never falling into a mere collection of tossed off material or random B-side assemblage, making it a cohesive listen throughout its disparate timeframe and evasions.
A statement about memotone's vision itself, 'pruning' veers closer to his Fourth World/ECM/Exotica meets Sci-fi transmutations in alignment with what would be expected from a memotone release on Discrepant. 'Moss Zone' briefly sets the tone with a warm but queasy synth bedsheet that flows into the 'Weird Figures' cyber-jungle, all small twinkling percussions and rainforest pads slowly rising. 'Riders' brings the synth-flute to an early Warp meets John Hassell's 'City: Works of Fiction' scenario that pops up again in more disrupted form on 'Wisdom [MOTHER]'. 'Not What I Thought's skewed tropical guitar gets going on lo-fi percussion and dissonant synth chords while 'Jim Starling and The Inverse Church' bring to mind 'Autoditacker' era Mouse on Mars going jazz-fusion. Or what we should expect from their Smalltown Supersound stint. 'Beach Scene' is exactly it, as the sun sets into 'Come In [Don't Mind the Ghost]' Summer night's stars with all the allure of Stereolab. Alluring, that's exactly it. Do come in.
Considering the process of pruning as a practice of selective removal, the album takes its name at face value never falling into a mere collection of tossed off material or random B-side assemblage, making it a cohesive listen throughout its disparate timeframe and evasions.
A statement about memotone's vision itself, 'pruning' veers closer to his Fourth World/ECM/Exotica meets Sci-fi transmutations in alignment with what would be expected from a memotone release on Discrepant. 'Moss Zone' briefly sets the tone with a warm but queasy synth bedsheet that flows into the 'Weird Figures' cyber-jungle, all small twinkling percussions and rainforest pads slowly rising. 'Riders' brings the synth-flute to an early Warp meets John Hassell's 'City: Works of Fiction' scenario that pops up again in more disrupted form on 'Wisdom [MOTHER]'. 'Not What I Thought's skewed tropical guitar gets going on lo-fi percussion and dissonant synth chords while 'Jim Starling and The Inverse Church' bring to mind 'Autoditacker' era Mouse on Mars going jazz-fusion. Or what we should expect from their Smalltown Supersound stint. 'Beach Scene' is exactly it, as the sun sets into 'Come In [Don't Mind the Ghost]' Summer night's stars with all the allure of Stereolab. Alluring, that's exactly it. Do come in.