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QUICKIES Backdraft
Skreamin’ Out Loud Botchit & Scarper 4.0
Middle-of-the-road breakbeat-meets- dubstep, with some 140bpm hardcore breaky stuff and a couple of d&b remixes.
Consequence
Etcht EP 001 Etcht Records 8.0
A distorted, experimental cacophony of electronic music from the further reaches of the d&b cosmos, fragmented and accelerated back into each other again; a convocation of beauty.
Distance Evol Intent
Dead On Arrival Evol Intent Recordings 3.0
This is a breadless shit sandwich. Well, the Must Die Trap remix is passable, if horrendously ear-piercing. The flip is an emo melodic dubstep number. Exactly.
Rob Sparx & Trigon
Watch the Light Profound Audio 4.0
8-bit-meets-brostep with a hint of dubwise wind instrumentation (yep, those dodgy synth horns), that commingle to produce something that’s borderline passable, but undeniably forgettable.
Set You Free Chestplate
8.5
A clever move here by Chestplate boss, Distance, for this new single of his own productions. The A-side is the prime-time banger, with cheese-grater riffs and a drizzle of moody vocals from New Zealand’s Stepa. However, it’s really all about ‘Gorilla Force’ on the flip. It’s a ridiculous tune, writhing in syncopation, deadly bass weight and haunting synths that borrow niftily from Burial’s sound palette, all combining to produce a beastly piece of music. Tip!
ARC88
Word Is Bond Terrain 8.0
Something a little different from the leviathan of dubstep that most of you will know as DJ N-Type. Gone are the brash borderline brostep beats, replaced by two rather good house x garage numbers that remind me a little of Mosca’s ‘Bax’ 12”. ‘Word Is Bond’ has a heavy emo vocal over a late ‘90s plonky melody. ‘Ardent’ is straight-up jacking 4/4 garage, big, ballsy and bouncy: all the right ingredients for destroying the dancefloor.
Gentleman’s Dub Club
Riot Ranking Records 6.0
AKKORDHOUNDSTOOTH
01. AKKORD ‘Navigate’ Houndstooth “Opening track on the forthcoming EP on Fabric’s Houndstooth label; pulsing
drums and thunderous bass.”
02. BIOME ‘Small Pieces’ Mindset “This makes people lose their shit!”
03. AKKORD ‘Destruction’ Houndstooth “Does what it says.”
04. ELEVEN8 ‘Unify’ Mindset/EMF “A deep and dark roller that turns heads inside out.”
05. EDMONDSON ‘Authentic’ Mindset/EMF “The bass weight and mixdown on this is ridiculous!”
06. GOLDFFINCH ‘Digital Dysfunction’ Mindset “Driving bleeps and bass from Belgium’s finest export.”
07. STICKMAN ‘Slengteng Riddim’ White “Crazy vibes and production levels on this one.”
08. DIZZEE RASCAL ‘Strings Hoe (Wen Refix)’ Dub “This works a treat when the unexpected drop hits.”
09. FIS ‘Trunk Pulse’ Mindset “Far-out and inspiring craftsmanship from the amazing Fis.”
10. TROY GUNNER ‘Provoked (Elsewhere Remix)’ Dub “Insane remix, goes in hard.”
Whilst I’m not a massive fan of nuevo dub/roots bands, as they can often sound a little pastiche, especially as the likes of the Twinkle Brothers are still killing it on the reggae circuit, it was a pleasant surprise to hear the GDC following a more tasteful dubsteppas direction on ‘Riot’. Think RSD and you’re in the right ballpark.
Ipman & Killawatt
Jigsaw Dub Lion Charge 7.0
J:Kenzo’s fledgling vinyl-only label makes its second drop in the musical bank with returning fund managers, Killawat & Ipman. ‘Jigsaw Dub’ lays a traditional reggae piano stab foundation that drops big time, with riffling drums and a hint of junglism. The flip turns Eek-a- Mouse’s classic ‘Runaway’ vocal on the ‘Black Wadada’ riddim
into a supercharged steppa number. Cool to see people still experimenting with “proper” dubstep rather than just adding sub basslines over house beats.
Laurel Halo
Behind the Green Door Hyperdub 8.0
Fresh in the wake of her stunning ‘Sunlight on the Faded’ single from December 2012 comes this four-tracker. Expect the same deft attention to quirky melodies, but here with more urgency, as she deploys a range of dancing apparatus — cue sub bass, driving drums and plenty of peripheral rhythmic attitude — which all conspire to conjure a rather mystical broken techno landscape. A great step onto the dancefloor. More like this!
Pearson Sound
REM EP Hessle Audio 7.0
An intriguing four-track EP from Mr Kennedy. We find him once again pushing the limits, or indeed scope, of electronic bass music through his choice of rhythmic designs. You can isolate certain influences throughout this selection, none more so than in the reductive grime of ‘Red’ (just imagine Trim dropping a surreal 64!), the playful techno interludes of ‘Figment’, and his own unique “style” dissected on ‘Crimson’. Making it feel more like an open letter, rather than a conclusive thesis.
Special Request
Hardcore EP Houndstooth 8.5
After three white label releases, Paul Woolford’s pirate radio inspired alter-ego Special Request finally throws up the gang signs with Fabric’s in- house label. Kicking shit off is the pokey techno machination of ‘Wall To Wall’: gripping and mildly intimidating. ‘Broken Dreams’ delivers the Amen discombobulation in full effect, while Anthony Naples delivers an empyreal emo-jungle remix of ‘Mindwash’ that floats around the senses. Lastly, Lee Gamble disembowels ‘Capsules’ of those percussive nuisances to let the ambience flow. Another stellar move from Woolford into more bass-led dimensions.
Various Artists
Keysound Allstars Vol.2 Keysound 8.0
If Walton has made one of the catchiest bloody tunes that “post-dubstep” has heard for quite some time amid the glut of 130-ish blandness, then Visionist has made the most surreptitious. Those pads, gutted from a battered Playstation stuck on its grime Fruity Loops presets, are here reinstalled into a 2013 OS and rebooted as some future Eski shizzle. Both of which put Etch and Fresh Paul in the shade, despite both being pretty good. At any rate, these four tunes represent the cutting edge of dance music in 2013.
DUBSTEPREVIEWS
djmag.com 069
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