break_fold is an electronic producer based in the north of England. A veteran of the toilet touring circuit in the 2000's, he swapped bands, guitars and service station pasties for beats, delay and reverb in 2015. Three albums have been released to date with a new double a-side Variant / Coalesce, glitchy abstract slabs of electronica, released through new label analog horizon in June 2021. The single follows in the wake of break_fold's eponymously titled third album and the Steve Lamacq championed single Meanwhile...Up in Trump Tower (both released winter 2020). Variant/Coalesce shares the ambient sensibilities of previous works, building a continually evolving landscape of skittish bleeps and beats. The song titles 'variant' and 'coalesce' are computing terms, referencing data and programming functions. They hint too at a more emotional response to the coronavirus pandemic. Variant's shape-shifting melodies evoke an ever-changing, unknowable situation whilst Coalesce's more buoyant but threat-tinged rhythms represent a craving for togetherness in the face of societal breakdown. For the artist, writing and recording under lockdown was a distraction technique, helping to cope with living through a global tragedy.