Review Summary: Pull up to the rave in an outfit made of shirtsleeves
Ayesha has a knack for naming releases. 2021’s
Potential Energy EP, a four-track fulmination that coalesced at the crossroads between techno and bass music, showed a whole lot of potential, and a
whole lot of energy. Her debut album, 2023’s
Rhythm is Memory is similarly aptronymic - but is it because the rhythms are so memorable, or because you can’t shake the feeling you might’ve heard them before?
A Queens-based EDM producer, Ayesha cut her teeth as a working DJ for over a decade in DC’s club scene before expanding her purview to production. It comes as no surprise, then, that her artistic philosophy displays such a single-minded focus on floor-filling beats and hard-hitting rhythms - a philosophy that pays off like a busted slot machine in standout tracks, but begins to blunt the impact of her wrecking-ball bass drums on longer-form releases. On
Rhythm is Memory, Ayesha doesn’t just do away with the off switch - she’s rewired the circuit, hastily scrawled “MORE ON” where “OFF” used to be, and duct-taped the toggle in place.
Blending Ayesha’s established techno/bass music fusion with a heaving helping of so-hot-right-now hard drum,
Rhythm is Memory is
all about the beats - and not much else. Melodic components to these tracks are few and far between; consisting mostly of rigidly arpeggiated synths and split-second vocal chops where they are present. A self-professed love for found-sound sample manipulation and the inclusion of South Asian inspired percussion and drone instruments occasionally provide listeners a handhold on an otherwise featureless cliff face - but these moments are not enough to provide a viable path up the scarp for anyone but the most ardent home club enthusiasts. A lack of clutter in the soundstage certainly provides Ayesha with the ideal staging ground for a good mix and master, and
Rhythm is Memory showcases a pristine, in-your-face production job that ramps the volume up to 11 and is sure to get the floor pumping when Ayesha hits the decks - but the feeling that not too many of the audience will be shazaming these tracks for later reference leaves Ayesha holding this double-edged sword by the blade instead of the hilt.
There are artists who wear their influences on their sleeves, and there are artists whose outfits seem mostly comprised of the stitched-together shirtsleeves their influences are displayed on. As a DJ first, Ayesha fully embraces the role of cultural historian and knowledge-keeper, paying homage to the last thirty years of club music, and repurposing tried and tested ideas from across this period. Perhaps surprisingly for a New Yorker,
Rhythm is Memory sees Ayesha drawing most of her inspiration from across the pond, with a particular focus on UK bass music. Aside from the all-pervasive influence of hard drum pioneer NKC, standout and lead single
Tactilia’s smoky atmosphere and sampled vocal ad-libs play out like Digital Mystikz choosing violence on the drum bus, and you’d have no trouble selling the boisterous, aptly-titled
2008 as a heretofore-undiscovered Benga or Skream track if you added a bass drop or two.
Roll even features an introduction built off a progressively layered polyrhythm lasagna that feels like a loving, if surprising, home-baked tribute to ‘90s Squarepusher before dropping into the track proper;
V7 a bright, distorted synth drone that would make the F
uck Buttons proud.
Most probably due in no small part to her wealth of experience as a working DJ, Ayesha displays a comprehensive understanding of how to pack a dance floor, and an unabashed love for the cultural context in which she exists. It’s a shame, then, that there seems to be such an irreconcilable tension between
Rhythm is Memory’s target audience and release format (one wonders whether the material wouldn’t have been better served as an EP or DJ Mix). Though it’s easy to imagine many of the tracks featured here sounding absolutely blissful with a gin-soaked collar pressed against a festival PA system, Ayesha’s single-minded production philosophy and lack of dynamics mean that as an album,
Rhythm is Memory unfortunately wears out it’s welcome before it’s run time.
