Description
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In the vibrant field of electronic music, a noteworthy duo made its presence known in 2005. Coming from Bristol, James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas, better known as Emptyset, set their sights on traversing the textured layers of electronic soundscapes. Both had roots in the world of rhythmic bass music set amid Bristol’s bustling club scene. Complexities of sound intrigued them, pushing them to investigate the boundary lines between music and noise, a pursuit that freely explored the physical properties of sound. This inherent curiosity cradled Emptyset in the embrace of analogue media, reflecting their passion for structural and materialist art production.
By infusing their passion for audio explorations and a knack for synthesizing unique sound forms, Emptyset steadily marked a distinctive spot in the cultural evolution of electronic sound. James Ginzburg, an instrumental virtuoso from the distinguished Osmium group, and Paul Purgas, renowned for his deep dive into India’s lesser-known synthesizer history with The NID Tapes compilation, found an exciting symbiosis of their experiences on Dissever. This newest full-length album, released in 2025, encapsulated their evolving style of heavy, pulsating electronic synthesis.
On the theme of shifting musical states, Emptyset’s Dissever is marked by ceaseless pulses and throbbingly dense syntheses. The duo demonstrated their prowess in balancing brittle and sputtering sounds against a backdrop of full-blown spewing voltage. Purgas and Ginzburg’s distinct brilliance shone through tracks like ‘Gloam,’ an electronic weave that ebbs and surges, but never loses its sustained momentum, a tribute to their relentless drive forward in the realm of electronic music.
Emptyset’s commitment to merging music, art, and the fluidity of sound has led to impressive installations for institutions like the Tate Britain and the Architecture Foundation in London. Their live performances have graced stages as diverse as Arnolfini, Spike Island Artspace, Kunsthalle Zürich, Sonic Acts XIV, and the Club Transmediale (CTM) festival, all testimonies to their multifaceted talents.
Beyond their core duo, other creators from Bristol’s vibrant music scene made substantial contributions to Emptyset’s ascension to electronic fame. Pinch’s Tectonic and Subtext, amicably nurtured under Ginzburg’s Multiverse, a studio complex and collective of record labels, played significant roles in their sonic journey. Ginzburg’s club tracks as ‘Ginz’ further enriched Emptyset’s sound spectrum. Simultaneously, Purgas’ background in techno, sound art curation, and his London-based, exploratory electronic music events under ‘We Can Elude Control’ added an additional layer of depth to their collaborations.
Dissever stands as a testament to Emptyset’s unwavering commitment to the evolution and advancement of electronic sound. Their calibrated fusion of art and sound has carved unique pathways in the cultural lineage of electronic music – a sonically charged journey that continues to reverberate through the dynamic corridors of music and noise. It is within this interplay, this fragile equilibrium, where techno surrenders to its creation mechanism, allowing its form to shape its content – Emptyset’s artful nuance luxuriating in the transpositions of electronic soundscapes.
