There was a time that Various Production were perceived as kin to Burial in the realm of shadow-soaked UK bass music. Their names were known, and little else. In the years since, they've proven to be even more elusive and farther afield. Their last transmission was 2009's The Invisible Lodger, a distemperate garble that featured expositions from gnarled Scottish poet Gerry Mitchell. They remixed the xx and Tennessee-via-London singer/songwriter Lauren Pritchard, and that was how they left things until today, when they announced an upcoming-- though predictably detail-light-- online label along with a 12" next month.
"12seven" is the A-side, a return to dance tempos and dressings that proves they're still trickier than their peers, whoever their peers are these days. The track's soft-focus beginning features a short spoken-word segment; someone outside, reflecting on their misfortune. The speaker is talking quickly, the pauses between his phrases too fast or perhaps digitally clipped. It's a subtle, disorienting touch, and disorientating listeners has always been important to Various Production. A straightforward, house-y beat yields to a hissy shuffle. Ghastly moans punctuate lead lines. While those eerie vocal samples don't haunt like they did in 2006, it's a permissible turn from a duo that, as recently as yesterday. felt like ghosts themselves.