Paul Hammock started making music inspired by techno, electro and the IDM of the nineties, with Plaid and the early work of Aphex Twin as his main references. In 2008 he published his first full EP through Alphabet Set, where he stayed, after publishing a full LP, until 2014, the year in which an organically developed journey through record labels like Seagrave, Lunar Disko, AC Records, Computer Controlled, Furthur Electronix, Analogical Force, Touched Electronix, Fundamental Records or Nebulae began. In the titles disseminated by these labels, Cignol has been offering a particular style in which the notorious classical rhythmic patterns –notably those of electro, but with sporadic appearances of others circumscribed to breakbeat or acid house– of equally classic drum machines are marked by a profuse use of the TB-303 and a wide range of melodic designs that, far from falling into the potential monotony of the loop, are subject to accumulation processes and formal reworking.

This podcast, the first in Dialektik’s series, is defined by the exposition of what has been developed during most of his career. What can be expected? A live set consisting of a succession of pieces, either released or unreleased, which feature melodies that oscillate between different forms and moods –from melancholy to smugness, from the enigmatic to the urgent–, ubiquitous acid lines of a meticulous and sinuous sensuality, a backdrop of floating pads and mechanical basslines, all within an electro framework while still occasionally offering archetypal acid house pills. The convergence of all these elements forms a sonic identity which is stamped by a nostalgic look at the future, imagined by the musical past that defined Hammock’s early days.

Photography by Geray Mena.