I7HVN Reckons With Avant-Garde Techno On 'Priests of Decay'

When listening to I7HVN's latest EP 'Priests of Decay', it's hard not to think of the artist Rrose, an artist many Indians may have discovered through his 2024 India tour. Classified under techno for its functionality, Rrose's work represents more of his background as a contemporary composer beyond the four-to-the-floor thump. The erstwhile-Bangalore-based artist Ishan, stylised as I7HVN, creates a homegrown strain of the style with the 3-track release, and naturally so, having regularly offered releases rooted in the experimental and IDM.

The two facets merge like never before for I7HVN on 'Priests of Decay'. The constant, strong pulse of the kick grounds the body with its simple, trustworthy pulse, allowing him to be abstract without becoming unintelligible. Everything else is as disjointed, abstract and unrecognisable as the decay-representing sculpture by Garima Katiya, which forms the focus of the EP artwork. No repeating basslines and no synth melodies, yet there is a tangible structure and repeating motif to the textural assemblies.

On 'They Watch Us Back', guttural sounds seem to scurry across the skin to the cascade of the underlying groove as voices and echoes emerge out of it without drawing attention to their entrances or exits. Industrial noises thrillingly move past while their sum swells into a crescendo on 'The Ending'. Both tracks prioritise subtle development and, while discomforting, remain ambient in their immersiveness, giving the techno pulse a hypnotic quality. Only the percussive roller 'Fruiting Body' breaks the formula with its dynamic structure, but here too the percussion morphs in and out of being a pulsating synth tone – continuing to make 'Priests of Decay' a fever dream for the dancefloor.

Listen to the EP below and head to I7HVN's artist profile for more.