Elusive Los Angeles-based beatmaker Finals is a stickler for process. He/she/they limits themself to one tool: a single monosynth, the ‘Pittsburgh Modular System 10’, a device that boasts a phalanx of sounds and gives its user nearly-unlimited control over synths and signals.
Finals used this synthesizer to record the “JMZ EP,” a chuckling, queasy, fiercely danceable five-track set. The tracks are named sequentially---“1”, “2”, etc---a minimalist nod that works in tandem with the record’s ghoulish sound palette. Influenced by contemporaries such as Visionist, Kassem Mosse and Zomby, the sound also is reminiscent of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.
The project was written and recorded in one week in September. The self-enforced time constraints lend an urgency to the tunes. Feelings rush in and out; sounds appear, then never appear again; sweeps sweep.
The result is a visceral and deeply-modern mix of grime and IDM.