Gaining notoriety in the dubstep scene as one half of Vex’d (with Jamie Teasedale), UK’s Roly Porter has since made waves with his debut solo full-length "Aftertime" (2011) out on Bristol’s Subtext label. 
 
Much like his Vex’d partner Jamie’s new solo explorations, Roly Porter has moved decidedly away from the hard, industrial dubstep of their former project. Unlike the synth futurism of Jamie’s Kuedo project, however, Porter’s work as a solo artist moves towards territory that is closer to Subtext label-mates Emptyset, exploring the physicality of bass and drone music as part of a movement that fits into Britain’s post-rave tradition. Porter’s work has been repeatedly described as leaning towards composition rather than programming, sharing more in common with modern classical music or the likes of Ben Frost. Indeed, in Porter’s music there is no note, sound or rumble that is out of place. Throughout all the tracks, distortion is used as more than a tool of aggression, in order to explore its hidden potentials of harmonic dissonance. 
 
The ice-cold, thick, grey ambiance Porter creates and then contrasts with the warm reassurance of sweeping, melancholy strings and dark synths results in compositions that are perfectly balanced and move quickly; every blast of raw power is followed by the softer string, synth and vocal passages. It is through these contrasts, expertly handled, that Porter manages to navigate the line between beauty and brutality.
 
Roly Porter makes his anticipated CTM debut as part of an evening program dedicated to raw, gut-wrenching sonic explorations from revered masters such as Mika Vainio and Ben Frost to newcomers G.H. and Morphosis.
 
 
Appearances:
› CTM.12 ›  ≠ NOT EQUAL