Engine Block - Audeka

This EP is the equivalent of being stuck in a massive engine, with pistons slamming and sparks cascading all around you. I kid you not, this project is an experience in itself.

At 44 minutes, it's difficult to call "Engine Block" an EP, because it can beat out most—if not all—LPs when compared one-to-one, and I'd likely give it the perfect 100 regardless—I suppose that also warrants me writing as much as I would for an LP. Nevertheless, it's only 7 tracks (albeit quite long ones), and Audeka manage to compress the entirety of humanity's greatest invention into those 7 tracks in an incredibly meticulous fashion. Massive kicks, ripping basslines, distortion that teeters on the edge of actual musicality, "Engine Block" has all the extremity a conceptual instrumental project needs, and all the technical expertise to be executed as a mind-opening piece of production. Commencing with 13 straight minutes of what is largely atmosphere-building, powering up the theoretical engine, "Engine Block" strikes hard in its midsection with "Direct Engine", extremely impactful neurofunk with giant, resounding metallic drums and scorching bass hits—and from there it simply does not relent. The next few tracks are each their own exemplification of unbridled, pure mechanical power, industrial and distorted and energized to its core, simultaneously feeling aggressively neuro yet monstrously machine-like, right up to the strangely ethereal finale of "Dark Energy". Each metallic kick is the precise impact of a piston, each fiery bass the rumbling of internal combustion, each distortion the scattering of sparks across great spans of hydraulics. And it works, it really works, it works so well that it's the only project that's ever managed to physically drop my jaw in public. Audeka manage to land "Engine Block" as a cornerstone of conceptual instrumental albums, paying homage to the engine with an EP that you wouldn't quite want to listen to, but one you'll never forget.

The advice I would give to people listening to this EP is simply to crank up the volume, as the atmosphere thrives when it's loudest, and also to persevere a little, as admittedly "Engine Block" can take a bit of time to really ramp up—but when it does, it RAMPS UP. That being said, "Engine Block" is also one of those projects that require your full attention, and practically none of the tracks work outside the context of the album, a pitfall of most conceptual instrumental albums.