Locust will return to Medical Records‘ techno imprint Transfusions with a new four track EP entitled “GREEN” due out on May 17th. The second in a series of three EP releases for the label, the upcoming record follows up on the musician’s earlier 2019 effort, “RED.” That album included the cut “Fuck These Days,” which featured some seriously glitched visuals from the producer himself.
Locust is the work of the UK-born musician Mark Van Hoen. In a 2013 feature about the artist for Resident Advisor, Angus Finlayson began by wondering if Van Hoen had ever “received the recognition he deserves.” Musically active since 1981 when he started by making Cabaret Voltaire inspired tape experiments, the artist began releasing music under his Locust moniker in the early-90s. His discography includes records for labels like R&S/Apollo, Touch, and Editions Mego, and while his style has fluctuated through the years, his output reflects a restless pursuit of emotionally relevant electronic music.
With the EPs “RED,” and now “GREEN,” Locust takes a more club-oriented approach than on previous LP releases like 2014’s After the Rain and 2013’s You’ll Be Safe Forever. While “RED”‘s high-octane bangers were built around glitched vocal samples, “GREEN”‘s arpeggiating synths carry the workload on this upcoming EP. His machine(s) create gnarly bass tones and patterns of tightly wound dread while the tracks continue to be punctuated by a cavernous kick drum tuned to induce maximal frenzy.
