Objekt - 'Cactus/Porcupine' - 2010s Retrospective

In the last 100 days before 2020, I'll be counting down by doing a retrospective of some of the classic releases/EPs of this decade, and maybe a few lesser known gems. Expect broken beats, some leftfield electronics and the odd cheesy banger :) 

(2011, Hessle Audio)

At the point in time, TJ Hertz aka Objekt is arguably – and rightly – the most respected and acclaimed DJ/producer on the circuit, and as labels go, the same can be said of Hessle Audio. So yes, Cactus/Porcupine really is a special release – which is funny, since Objekt seems to have largely washed his hands of this era of his work. 

As Objekt, TJ Hertz's music has always been forward-thinking and penetrating, but his sound has certainly progressed over the years. His initial releases were irreverent but razor-sharp takes on preeminent genres at the time: avant-garde and excellent though they were, they were still easy enough to pin down. On his most recent (and much lauded) album Cocoon Crush, however, his approach to sound and songwriting was pretty much unclassifiable. In that respect, Cactus/Porcupine occupies a particularly interesting space – still fitting within his playfully banging early work, but containing elements of his more abstruse recent output. 

‘Cactus’ made bigger waves upon its initial release, which is understandable. The sinister wubs and edgy beat were a timely (in 2011) deconstruction of dubstep, taking the genre’s halftime lope and heavy basslines to an ominous, almost anxiety-inducing conclusion. Beginning with just bass and some abstract drums, it's almost unmixable to start. But when regular hi-hats enter the fold, they don't ground 'Cactus' - if anything, they make it sound more jagged, more threatening. It’s B-side ‘Porcupine’, however, that I think has aged better, and TJ might just think the same – in his live set in London, this was the only pre-Flatlands song that made the cut. The stuttering electro beat plays no small part in its enduring appeal, as does a bassline that has to be heard to be believed – but it’s the sounds that are dotted around ‘Porcupine’ that really make it stand out. Clicks, hisses and jitters have an alien and ghostly quality that’s otherwise unique to his LPs – and they genuinely add to the thrill of the song, rather than clutter and confuse it.

Though these taut, hard-edged tunes feel like a direct response to the music of their era, they also show one of the decade’s true visionaries starting to create their own lane. He may not think the same, but as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the decade's best electronic artists at the top of their game.