Hyph11E's debut album arrived after the Shanghai-based producer had released material on experimental club labels like Genome6.66Mbp and SVBKVLT, including a blistering 2019 EP with Kenyan visionary Slikback. Exploring themes related to holes, which are both parasitic and essential to growth, Aperture is a set of knotty, intense tracks heavy enough to verge on suffocating at times, but with a propulsive energy that keeps them club-ready. Progressing from the chest-rattling, bass-heavy power noise of the bracing opener "Encrust," the tracks fuse the most menacing aspects of footwork and jungle rhythms, set in place through post-industrial sound design. "Knots" contains crawling, scraping strings interrupted by smashing breaks and tunneling sub-bass, while "Barnacles" scatters the cries of wild animals over booming, scampering beats. The funky, shuffling breakbeats of "Doppelgänger" are confirmation that this is undoubtedly music made for dancing, yet the Psycho strings and panoramic soundscapes indicate a cinematic aspiration. Best of all is "Shatter," a constantly building rhythmic exercise that finds glorious release through breakcore-style beat mangling and dramatic synth pads. The similarly thrilling "Get Out from Under" offsets its space-like vacuum void with explosive breaks and jittery footwork kicks. As dark and challenging as Aperture might seem conceptually, the tracks are vibrant and busy, and it's nothing less than a remarkably exciting, inventive record.