Mor Elian
Built in Waves
Fever AM
The Fever AM label probably doesn’t need an official slogan, but if the Berlin-based outpost ever wanted to start using one, I would suggest, “Smart and fun are not mutually exclusive.” For years now, the imprint headed up by Mor Elian and Rhyw has been offering up brain-bending club tracks, many of them sitting somewhere in the increasingly crowded zone between techno and the ever-expanding hardcore continuum. Yet while many of their peers tend to get caught up in moody meditation and / or overly complex composition, Fever AM has always made sure to infuse even its most intricately crafted and sound design-y tunes with an electric sense of jubilance—and, at times, mania.
Built in Waves is the latest EP from Mor Elian, and it also marks her official return to the club after last year’s ambient-leaning Solid Space full-length. Taking time away from the dancefloor doesn’t seem to have dulled her skills—or her zeal, as the record opens with its delightfully weird title track, a rollicking number powered by feverish percussion and zany synths that jiggle like rubber and somehow also sound like a cartoonish swarm of bees. In other words, there’s a lot going on, and observing it all unfold is akin to being caught up in an unruly Mardi Gras parade; it’s wild, but you’re almost surely going to have a good time.
The energy level does come down on “Bionic Afters,” a crunchy number where the synths unfold with a kind of cybernetic swirl, and though “Ondulations” does masquerade as a kind of late-night groover, the quirks of its digital swagger rapidly begin to emerge. (Those quirks include a “chick, chicka-chicka” vocal refrain that one can only assume is an homage to Yello’s ’80s classic “Oh Yeah”—arguably one of the most deliciously odd dance anthems of all time.)
Still, it’s on “Get Ready with Me” that the record reaches peak eccentricity. Employing some bruising—and, if we’re being honest, kind of farty—synths that could have been lifted from an old Rusko record, the track itself is built atop a plinky, breakdance-ready rhythm that sounds like something Joy Orbison would have put together during his “Sicko Cell” era. As with much of Built in Waves, the track occasionally runs quite close to veering into total ridiculousness, but its ability to nimbly walk that edge is what makes the record—and, frankly, a good portion of the Fever AM catalog—so damn appealing.