BASSREVIEWS
TExAS. From the off, it channels the same sort of saccharine synthesizer party as their last release by Lockah did, with TExAS also exploring the double time possibilities of the juke tempo much in the same manner. But it’s in ‘Whoah’, a simplistic, slow, hip-hop instrumental driven by sampled croons and dripping taps, that he finds his most striking and original voice.
MGUN Kode9
Xingfu Lu Hyperdub
9.0
If you stop trying to second guess a guy like Kode9, you’ll probably end up enjoying his work all the more, and even after his label’s recent dalliances with footwork, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the brittle constructions of ‘Xing Fu’ and ‘Kan’. It’s like he sucked all the dread out of his early work and just went hell for percussion, using the space surrounding the juke tempo drums as a target to throw all these striking chords at.
Akkord
Navigate EP Houndstooth 9.0
You can take the faceless, anonymous producer shtick in all manner of ways, but none of that first impression shit even matters when the music released is as finely tuned and as well-produced as Akkord’s material is — the collective’s first 12” outing on Houndstooth is powerful and coiled and sparse and danceable. I always use 2562’s ‘Aerial’ as a yard stick when talking about the best unions of dubstep and techno, but these four tracks are right up there with it.
Champion
Prince Jammy Formula 7.0
If you can get past that ring of the cheap snare on ‘Prince Jammy’, then there’s a lot to love about Champion’s work. He was right there when the funky and grime worlds collapsed in on themselves and started yielding a whole new 4/4 screw-face genre, so it’s no surprise that the flip-side to this 12”, ‘Hydra Island’, sounds more like Roska than Roska does at the minute, which is, ostensibly, a very good thing.
72
If You’re Reading This EP Don’t Be Afraid 8.0
DD Black
The Number Nine EYE4EYE 7.0
Altered Natives more than hinted at a talent pool on his ‘Guild of Synchronists’ compilation a couple of years back, but since then, his EYE4EYE label has been more of a solo vehicle. With DD Black’s five original tracks, though, Danny continues to assault the dancefloor in new and interesting ways, with the title track just a rumbling bassline and electronic interference more reminiscent of Emptyset than anything resembling ‘Rass Out’.
Laurel Halo
Behind the Green Door Hyperdub 8.0 Laurel Halo’s work didn’t really make much sense to me until I saw her play live at Plastic People; there was something about that room that made it all become vivid. Her new EP for Hyperdub is reportedly built from her hardware up, after all that rigorous touring, and the fact that it’s bookended by a killer piano jam in ‘Throw’ and an earworm called ‘Sexmission’ make it her most direct dancefloor release to date.
LiL TExAS
Talkin 2 U Donky Pitch 7.5
The 10th release from the Brighton-based Donky Pitch comes from a Texan, called, er LiL
www.djmag.ca
Halfway through MGUN’s six-track EP for Don’t Be Afraid, something switches. Forsaking the rigid 4/4 of the early tracks, he unleashes ‘Hand Over Fifth’, a two-minute interlude that simultaneously sounds like one machine dying and a drum machine just warming up, and then on ‘Jijijijij$ijijijiji’, the track that follows it, he goes all screeching electro, before later deploying some mechanical acid. Points for the array on display, and more for the wanton execution.
Ol & ¥oin
Sink Fine Grains 8.0
Tracks like Ol & ¥oin’s ‘Sink’ and ‘Nails’ are so much more than the phrase ‘club bass’ that they come tagged with conjures; all head gone-wooze synths, hi hats on the 16th and actual, tangible arrangements. The duo’s collaborative EP on Fine Grains feels eerily reminiscent of Offshore (R.I.P) in the way the synths are about the highest heights, whilst the drums just plug away at their rhythm regardless. I totally love that contrasting balance.
Various
Keysound Allstars Vol.2 Keysound 7.5
I’m always a fan of how considered Keysound’s releases are. I guess, as a journalist, I’m drawn to the way they theme their output and group their artists together, and the second instalment in their ‘Keysound Allstars’ 12” series still manages to do all the hard work for you in that respect. Walton’s contribution ‘Homage’ really stands out amongst strong tunes from Etch, Visionist and Fresh Paul, who manages to serenely flip that sparse kind of eski sound for the greater good.
BAMBOOMAN SONIC ROUTER
01. DEMDIKE STARE ‘Primitive Equations’ Modern Love “Breakbeats and haunting textures.”
02. STRANGE U ‘Plastique’ Eglo “Gritty, raw and weird UK hip-hop at its finest.”
03. KELPE ‘Haunt’ DRUT “Killer, slow, twisted and bouncy house/hip-hop banger.”
04. UIO LOI ‘Cane’ Opal Tapes “Low, swung out and dusty hip-hop tempo techno.”
05. SOOSH ‘The Way You (Zack Christ Remix)’ Error Broadcast “Zack Christ smashing it on remix duties.”
06. LOVERS’ RIGHTS ‘Mt Florida’ High Sheen “Hardware-based ‘80s-styled 4/4 business from the Glasgow super-group.”
07. JEHST ‘G.A.M.E.O.V.E.R’ YNR “Awesome use of 8-bit sounds, with a killer verse. Steve Wiebe would be
proud!”
08. ALPHABETS HEAVEN ‘Birthday’ King Deluxe “Broken halftime swagger, with great use of found sounds.”
09. WANDA GROUP ‘Pans Out in the Afterlife’ Opal Tapes “20-minute mind-melter.”
10. J. TIJN ‘Squirtle Squad’ Penny Royal “Raw and rugged techno banger.”
Andrea
Hits Ilian Tape 8.0
Two of the four producers featured on the latest Bias Jams/ Ilian Tape transmission sound like they sampled the exact same kick, so when Andrea’s ‘Hits’ swells up and into earshot, it’s like a palette cleanser and a shot in the arm all at once. Absolute TIP!
Archie Pelago
Sly Gazabo Archie Pelago 7.0
Archie P continue to channel the unconventional into something special, with this self-released four-tracker, teaching us that slack footwork kind of works as a scaffolding for an orchestrally-
OLI MARLOW,
info@sonicrouter.com QUICKIES
hinged guy to drape his reverbed strings over. Enriching.
Kill Frenzy
Errrybody Like It Food Music 5.0
I really didn’t.
Suitdancer Wireworld EP Tone Control Music
7.5
It’d be pretty narrow- minded to call Suitdancer’s ‘Wireworld EP’ some 8-bit house music, but I could see where you’re coming from. It’s got that immediate, almost simplicity to it, but there’s at least four fully-fleshed stone grooves in the four exceptionally charming original tracks.
MONEYSHOT!
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