- Ahm is an electronic artist from down Melbourne way and you may have encountered his work, over the years, with such folks as Huntly, Gregor, Lalic or Arrom. However Ahm chooses to step out by himself when he really wants to have a dark night of the soul. His latest EP, Why I Let You is self-described as the closing chapter in “explorations of caring for someone who hurts you, and recognising how this shapes one’s identity and self-worth”. So it was unlikely to be a picnic, but the musical vehicle Ahm has chosen is dark, industrial techno, both dark, meaty and fuzzy as well as trebly, bright and snapping like a set of very jagged teeth; it really rams home a certain appreciation of interpersonal dysfunction.
The tracks, which are all nil-vox, are helpfully quite functional in their titling. Am I Better Off, Stateless and, of course, Why I Let You, clue you into why you’re listening to such brutal fare. Interestingly and I suppose this is the case with relationships as it is with techno, the earlier, longer tracks can be quite focussed on extended periods of unforgiving repetition and as such, while they be an accurate depiction of the emotional state Ahm is referencing, they’re better for dancefloor catharsis than the headphones.
There are some cuts which are more tricked out, complex and these -accurately or not- seemed to me like the more constructive, positive moments, as Ahm puts his head back together. Don’t get me wrong, this is about as far from happy house as you can imagine and my favourite Resolutions is a splintered dub-techno, that reworks the mind-altering echoes of dub to sound like they’re created from shattering glass. However, depression usually manifests as a kind of paralysis, so its ingenuity alone is surely a sign of moving in the right direction, mentally.
Industrial techno is an easy sell for me and not everything Ahm does blows my mind. At its best, however, Why I Let You is the sound of a mind sublimating utter distress into music that is distressingly compelling.
- Chris Cobcroft.