Pye Corner Audio morphs into Head Technician mode for the project's brooding second sojourn with Ecstatic. Taking inspiration from his fascination with Brutalist construction, Martin Jenkins exclusively uses Roland TR-606, MC-202, and TB-303 boxes plus the Roland System 100 modular synth to sketch out a slow, murky sound in furtive pursuit of the vibes on Zones (2017), but this time the results are even darker and obscure. Echoes of early Detroit and UK bleep and bass infiltrate the stark corridors of Profane Architecture as much as the hauntological spirits of Boards of Canada, combining to make a sound that revels in nostalgia yet yearns for the future. It's not a new idea, but it is one that Jenkins executes with such classic style and unique character that can only lead to comparisons with acid maestros such as early Plastikman or the Analord, Richard J. James. For moody dancers, Profane Architecture is perfect; from the oozing elan of opener "First Pour" through the spheric momentum of "Béton Brut" and the mind-weaving acid of "Formwork" he establishes a slickly hypnotic sound that works its magick with more funk on the flipped, generating the tactile form of "Second Pour" and the ruggedly hewn groove of "The New Brutalism", then closing out with the exquisite darkness of "Demolition" -- a real highlight in his extensive and highly collectible catalog.
