I can’t really say the UK act Somatic Responses is one of my favorite acts and yet I’m endlessly intrigued by their material. Y’know how you have those CDs in your collection that you always pass over when you’re looking for something that fits the mood you’re in yet it seems like every time you do put that particular CD in it more than adequately touches you regardless of your current state of mind? Yeah. That’s what Somatic Responses is like for me. And I can’t quite put my finger on just why I don’t listen to them (or write about them) more often. Their music is a brilliant mixture of styles, none of which are particular accessible to the more mainstream tastes. Ambient, Breakcore, Noise, Electro and even Dubstep are woven together in an intriguing collage. And the emphasis on Ambient is especially helpful in binding all these styles together.

Their last release, 2009′s Mercury was offered as a free download (which is still accessible here) and they’ve been putting out material for about a decade and a half now so it’s impossible for me to break their output down for you (although Discogs did manage a pretty comprehensive list of their output). On the 22nd of this month Hymen Records is releasing their latest work, Neon, and it’s something those of you with more adventurous tastes should pick up. The press release mentions that its “pulsating sub-bass and acherontic (where did that word come from?!) synth lines induce a multitude of moods (including) aggression, disarray and melancholy.” Yep, sounds like Somatic Responses. This is one to which I’m looking forward. You should be as well, particularly if you were ever a fan of Aphex Twin and Autechre. Early on the act’s material could be pretty spotty but as of late they really seem to have hit their stride and evolved into a consistently satisfying outfit with which you should be familiarizing yourself if you haven’t already.