The Futurist

Label: Skudge Records
Catalog#: SKUDGE LP01

A1: Ursa Major
A2: In Between
A3: Sandblast
B1: Eleven
B2: Downtown
B3: Vanisher
C1: Realtime
C2: Pressure Drop
C3: Blackout
D1: Shivers
D2: Phantom
D3: Modular Storm

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Even Skudge can not avoid the fact, that depth in the kind of sound they pursue lies within a structure above what at first might seem as dance floor tracks; paying a lot of attention to the tracks, getting the sounds to go into each other with perfection and to put them into the analogue expression of not only the equipment used, but also through the tape recorder, Skudge manages to achieve something that is more unclear than what has been said about ‘Phantom’ already.

‘Phantom’ shows the best of its strength in the ambient pieces, the details trapped between the beat structures and the progression in the tracks. An experiment in removing the beats in all of the tracks would simply showcase their ear for what is simply defined as techno, rather than trying to aim directly to the dancefloor—although Skudge manages to aim with precision and delivers in that field as well.

Combining the two; creating tracks that are meant for the floor as well as setting a mood for an atmosphere reminiscent to areas far below the earth, Skudge sums up a lot of ambition and dedication to their journey this far.

The album sums up Skudge’s previous work in a interesting way. It does resemble a lot to their B sides of their EP releases, but there is not a single track that goes into the direction of the sound they became most famous for—the A sides. A interesting, but more importantly, bold move. By creating a album dedicated to a deeper sound in which they always have been going for, Skudge manages to explain more of their sound in this album than all the A sides from previous EP releases combined.

The diversity in each and every track lies in the details. Splitting them up one by one may seem as they follow each other in a quite static way, but the truth is that they are meant to be viewed, and listened to as a whole. Highlighting differences between the tracks is hard when Skudge has established themselves soundwise, but ‘Phantom’ doesn’t require this in order to stand out.

The most important aspect of the LP lies somewhere in between the functionality and style. This aspect comes into the clear with ‘Realtime’, a track with its steadyset mood and attitude creates a penetrating track that has a strict framework in which it moves around freely—something fans of Skudge will recognize and take in.

The highlight of the album, except the brilliant ambient material, is in ‘Pressure Drop’. A track that is so static in its progression that it tickles just in the right places. The sounds that feel in a way misplaced fits perfectly in the secure groove, as it creates a utterly unique experience. Especially under the feet of the right crowd.

Even though a few tracks have been balancing on the edge of going into a more haunting direction, ‘Shivers’ feels almost as a visual experience and surely falls over. Stabbing synthwork that at first might feel a bit uneasy, makes perfect sense as the track digs into itself through the pads that surrounds the rest of it, in a perfect way, making it extremely mesmerizing and that unexplainable weirdness feel more natural than ever.

My favorite tracks:

Blackout

Thanks to E&G for this release.

Label: Hyperdub
Catalog#: HDB013

Tracklist:

A: Street Halo

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When a person has a special approach to music, the music itself will approach the listener in a special way. For Burial, this means creating tracks that goes deep into their own atmosphere, in a way where his, seemingly, humble personality constantly shines through even in the most wild moments of his tracks.

‘Street Halo’ is the first and main track, taking Burial’s traditional sound into a deeper and perhaps more up to date depth. It has an atmosphere that follows his excellent ‘Untrue’ LP four years back, but ‘Street Halo’ keeps it all in the right direction by a driven beat style that hasn’t been present in any of his previous work—except maybe the almost perfect ‘Versus’ on Planet Mu. The discomfort and melancholy traditionally found in Burial’s music is almost turned into anger, where ‘Street Halo’ feels more solid, rigid and emotionally outspoken in an organized way. This was a pleasant surprise, because following up ‘Untrue’ would’ve almost been impossible without taking a step back and then approach the music from a different direction.

For this three track EP, ‘NYC’ is the one that goes into a deconstructed territory, leaving room for more dirt and sound architectual twists and perhaps functions as a shelter for people loving Burial’s previous work. The depth of ‘NYC’ is incredible—huge effort has been put into it soundwise, where Burial takes his music above the atmosphere in pursuit of the unlocked, yet driving beat structure.

For ‘Stolen Dog’, a more low key attempt successfully keeps the atmosphere in an almost faded out state. Sparsly built structures functions as something concrete as Burial creates samples that goes through the beat in an dreamlike way.

‘Street Halo’ is out on the 28th of March.

Label: Deeply Rooted House
Catalog#: DRH034

Tracklist:

A1: Sulfuric

DJ Deep has showcased a interesting take on the split between old school but timeless house through his ‘City to City’ mix series on BBE, but at the same time establishing the sound of his label ‘Deeply Rooted House’, which in some way falls right in between his taste for more mature house music as well as a more reduced techno sense as well.

What is most interesting with ‘Deeply Rooted House’, is that it is a label that seems to work as a platform for people who create their own sound, but doesn’t lack the quality of more established artists—this is a good way to promote music and people who know what they are doing.

For Marcelus’ second EP, it is a record that starts off with a interesting and personal take on the acid, where Marcelus bends the sound to follow a steady beat which pulls things around into all the right directions.

‘Shape’ is a more subtle track, with its twisting and digging sound architecture goes into a territory similar to Klockworks earlier sound, as well as maintaining his own style to it.

On the B1, ‘Life Cycle’ takes the minimalism to a peak which feels more timeless than for ‘Shape’. It feels as if Marcelus had more focus on depth and originality here—two key factors that count well into the groove of this track and will make it stand out from the rest of the EP. The track goes even further into a state of hypnosis, where very few, but carefully crafted elements brings attention and demands a proper pace.

For the last track, ‘Mutation’ takes a more haunting but less subtle approach, yet not as wild as for ‘Sulfuric’. This track is the most experimental on the EP, but does feel a little misplaced, due to it’s direction and groove—which although displays a diversity in Marcelus’ sound, which in return gives the EP more functionality and will probably attract more attention.

The ‘EP2′ is due for release soon.

Thanks to DJ Deep and Deeply Rooted House for this release.