ke thu have released a new EP via Detroit Underground, titled Bound Apart.

ke thu, the Detroit duo made of multi-instrumentalists Tim Barrett and Steven Stavropoulos, first landed on XLR8R‘s radar when they submitted “Every Aspect,” their latest single at the time, via the XLR8R+ submissions portal. The duo’s brand of emotive techno caught our ear and was subsequently featured in the April submission roundup. Now, the duo return with their first release since “Every Aspect,” the five-track Bound Apart EP.

Bound Apart was recorded in early spring during the first stages of lockdown, with the duo sending ideas back and forth while isolated in their respective studios, before meeting in person this summer to finalize the recordings. In recording the atmospheric collection, the duo utilized a variety of soft synths and guitar samples to form an immersive bed for their fractured and broken rhythmic structures. Although the EP loosely sits under the techno banner, the tracks never hit a 4×4 structure and instead explore the genre’s more tender pastures.

To celebrate the release of the EP, ke thu have shared a live performance of a hybrid version of EP tracks “Plain View” and “Jungo” on Detroit’s Belle Isle on August 30. You can watch the performance in full via the player below.

Bound Apart is available now and can be picked up via Bandcamp, with the tracklisting and a stream below.

Tracklisting:

01. Salis
02. Melty Boy
03. Plain View
04. Dissolve: Into
05. Jungo