A Taut Line - To Live and Die in Shinjuku / Woken by Diskotopia

Almost exactly ten years to the day since his Unwoken EP, the inaugural release on his and BD1982's Diskotopia label, Matt Lyne dusts down his A Taut Line moniker for an intoxicating double A-side single, the first ATL release proper since his critically acclaimed album Distraction Provisions in 2017.

For this return, Lyne has channelled his signature A Taut Line sound into a much tighter framework for two tracks aimed for closed-and-not-opening-any-time-soon dancefloors.

To Live and Die in Shinjuku is an augmented 140bpm brutalist roller that takes its cues equally from 90s new beat, UK 2009-era post-dubstep, and Anthony' Shake' Shakir records. Haunting crystal chimes send shivers down the spine of a crushed and chiselled 100v/50Hz rhythm section, ripping through distorted-guitar and fractured-synth static.

Woken (see what he did there with the title?) is a broken 2-step zesty-yet-mellow opus that pays homage - in a very A Taut Line way - to MJ Cole, LTJ Bukem, Super Discount, Yuji Takenouchi, and Ron Trent all at the same time. Lush rhodes-&-strings atmospherics, a skuzzy electro bassline, slowed-n’-swung jungle breaks, and a percussion-vs-vocal-sample mutant-tango tussle are all locked together into an irresistible shuffling groove.

Potentially some of the best A Taut Line material to date that relishes in its Cabernet-Sauvignon-stained newspaper-cutting vibes.