Siberian HMOT’s five-track, 22-minute “Permanent Imbalance” EP has the sonic properties of dark, raw techno- sharp-edged percussive electronic hits, super-short noise cuts, distorted industrial rumbles, EQ’ed hammering and dark synthetic minor chord pads.

But rhythmically and structurally, the title track is anything but 4/4 or DJ friendly. Playing with counterpointed time signatures, sudden drops and abrupt speed changes, on the rare occasion that these tracks do end up forming a techno-esque structure it feels more like coincidence than design.

The other four tracks explore the same tenets but in different recipes. Second track “Dieback Machinery” is on slightly more familiar ground but is still a wilfully obtuse bit of techno seemingly on a mission to catch you by surprise. “No Innocence” is angrier than it is quirky, playing nicely against the slower and more atmospherics-led “Logos”. Final track “Collapse” sounds like the harshest-sounding drum and bass has been triply deconstructed to leave only the fills, the warps and the far edges of the sonics.

It’s considered and intricate stuff with a very solid energy, and if you like your electronica dark and very broken-sounding, this is worth checking out.