Heidi Sabertooth has a serious love for hardware. Since 2012 she has been making beautiful noise, from the delicate to the jarring, from her Brooklyn studio. Think grit-laced drum loops, vintage acid, and a tide of unruly sound clatters to form tracks that have been picked up by labels like Lobster Theremin, UFO Inc. and Bpitch Control.
Her latest sonic explorations come in the form of The Sleep of Reason on Jacktone Records. Released last month, the split EP also features the work of Drakkar Noir (R Gamble), delivering subterranean electro, techno, noise, and experimental electronics.
Sabertooth said that the cassette release was inspired by the famous Goya etching (The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters), intended as both an homage to a visionary artist and a reflection that the sentiment in the artwork resonates particularly today. “[The release is] a channeling of angst and disenchantment about relationships, technology, and expectations of the modern femme,” she said. “Distorted analog hardware, tart acid, and icy digital vocals accompany a funhouse mirror reflection of self, addiction, and the pursuit of not being bored.”
It’s releases like The Sleep of Reason that have cemented Sabertooth’s place in NYC’s techno community and beyond. She is a resident of Brooklyn-based Lost Soul Enterprises label and collective, a host on The Lot Radio, and a curator of Bossa Nova Civic Club’s Techno Support Group. She is known for her live hardware performances and vinyl-heavy DJ sets that are made for smoky, sweaty nights on the dancefloor.
Sabertooth’s love of hardware also led to the creation of The Synth Library NYC. Cofounded with Cy X, the library launched last month to provide access to music technology equipment for people of all experience levels and economic means in NYC. With a catalog of synthesizers, recording equipment, modular gear and other electronic musical instruments, they provide priority access to those who have been traditionally marginalized from the fields of music production, including BIPOC and individuals of all marginalized genders.
Now, Sabertooth brings her love synth sounds to our Greylist series, selecting five out of this world tracks.
1. "Acid Girl," Dungeon Acid
2. "Nyctinasty," Abby Echiverri
3. "Magma," Sepehr
4. "Gaza Border Violence," Bergsonist
5. "Comfort Killer," DJ Overdose
You can hear / buy ‘The Sleep of Reason’ on Bandcamp. You can hear Heidi Sabertooth on The Lot Radio every other Tuesday night from 10pm to midnight.
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