Barker explores the kick-drum’s variability and potential on new EP, ‘Unfixed’

Barker has announced a brand new EP, ‘Unfixed’, via Oslo’s Smalltown Supersound. Listen to the first single, ‘Birmingham Screwdriver’, below.

The Berlin-based British producer will return with his first solo EP since 2020 on 25th August. The four-track project sees Barker moving away from the kickless dancefloor style of previous releases, including 2018’s ‘Debiasing’ EP and 2019’s ‘Utility’, to explore the endless possibilities of the kick-drum.

Described as being “deeply invested in musical experimentation”, the ‘Unfixed’ EP initially emerged from a technical session studying bass drum design and cognition. He then focused on breaking down the typical bass drum elements of waveform, transient, and noise before re-combining them through modular synthesis. The end result is described as a “mix of raw, stuttering, psychedelic growl, kosmische techno, and infinite iterations of a single groove.”

The project will mark the Berghain resident’s first release since June 2022, where he remixed Planetary Assault Systems’ ‘Eden Tide’ for his ‘Devotion’ EP. Revisit DJ Mag’s long-read interview with Barker here.

‘Unfixed’ is available to pre-order on Bandcamp. Listen to ‘Birmingham Screwdriver’ below.