Arthur Hnatek brings drum-led electronics to Hessle Audio
The Zurich-based musician's four-track Undertow EP arrives on 30 October, with its title track already available.
Arthur Hnatek has announced Undertow, a four-track EP for Hessle Audio due on 30 October 2026. The title track is already available through the artist's official Bandcamp page; the complete release remains on pre-order. It is a new international label connection for a Swiss musician whose work moves between acoustic improvisation and electronic production.
The recording becomes the instrument
The starting point was a series of drum improvisations recorded in Brooklyn, Berlin and Switzerland. Rather than simply placing beats underneath electronic arrangements, Hnatek processed the recordings into material with melodic and harmonic functions. The production used resonators, vocoders, tuned delay and spectral processing.
Undertow, Etch, Sunder and Loom make up the EP. Hnatek and Manu Egger share the mixing credit, while Stefan Betke handled mastering. The release makes an important distinction within Switzerland's electronic scene visible: a musician's instrumental practice can generate the electronic language itself, rather than appearing as an additional live element. Digital and vinyl editions are listed for the end of October.