REVIEW: Shielding - Collecting Seaweed EP

After a string of self-releases, and edits including a well-received debut LP, K-Lone and Facta have passed the proverbial musical baton of 2020 over to Swedish producer Shielding for their latest release on Wisdom Teeth. The Bristol-based label has been turning heads and stomping feet since 2014 through a myriad of releases ranging from Techno to Grime, Electro, Garage, IDM, and all of the lovely unidentifiable in-between.

Shielding’s 6 track, Collecting Seaweed EP acts almost as a natural extension in a long-running theme within Wisdom Teeth that winds through the years with two very different sides. Tracks like K-Lone’s ‘Woniso’ or Cape Cira LP, Duckett’s ‘Looking at Mum Objectively’, or Benoit B’s Vague à l'Âme EP, providing a stark comparison to that of Lurka’s ‘Stay Let’s Together’, Facta’s ‘Scales + Measures’ or Piezo’s ‘Ambra’. This balancing act between the two is what really gives Wisdom Teeth, and in turn, Shielding that ‘je ne sais quoi’.

Leading off, Dunsta with its undulating synths and pads provides a subtle, almost pensive yet inviting introduction to what will come ahead. The muted drums building gracefully into the dub infused Grass Snow Rain. A hypnotic number that wastes no time in continuing a central trend of little auditory details flitting in and around your ears and is reminiscent of a few early Wisdom Teeth releases. Rounding out the A-sides, and coincidentally enough with a few bird samples, Mossa returns to the light with a sun-drenched, groovy breakbeat feel.

But balance we must! If Mossa is the afternoon, Reserv is the evening into the night. Off-kilter, deep, with a bit of a bite, the staccato hi-hats persist even as the synths stab out seemingly as flashlights flicking off and on in the darkness. Bringing it back, we have Timekeeper, a floaty melody coupled with persistent percussion that provides the vibes. Straight into the final track, 111 Ways. I’d almost consider this an auditory synopsis, as it contains all the most important ideas of this EP. The ever-present and changing synths, the beat, the textures, the loops. A fitting end.

Hats off to Shielding, and Wisdom Teeth for putting this out. We’ll be following them both closely at Delayed for future offerings and in the meantime, putting Collecting Seaweed on repeat.