New Releases: September 2022
Grotto-Tek, HyperBass & A Very Spicy Meatball
The DMX Krew mega-drop forced me to split my September fav’s across two posts. Read about the three new DMX Krew releases in last week’s post.
A Psychic Yes - EP4 [Nummer Music]
Techno / House / UK Bass
EP4 has been my introduction to UK producer Timothy Crombie’s oeuvre. Since 2018, Tim has built a brief but considered discography of wonky and warm compositions that combine the haze of Vancouver weed-house with the intrigue of innovative UK technoid rhythms and bass. Thematically, EP4 explores the evocation of nature via technology (a theme I recognize in the work of Davis Galvin). This time Tim’s sonic palette expands to include New Age psychedelia with great effect. Musical elements range from the electric / synthetic to the acoustic / organic but the sum total leans toward the latter. Warm washes of reverbed synths and atmospherics create aural grottos, caverns, rainforest clearings – physical homes for the tracks and spaces for the listener / dancer to inhabit. Each track welcomes us inside (no shoes please!). Have a seat. Have a dance. Would you like a hot yerba maté?
The tracks are varied but the conceptual coherence of the EP precludes any desire to discuss one on its own. I’ve enjoyed treating EP4 as a mini-LP, spinning it from start to finish again and again. That said, I’m sure at least a few of these will find themselves at home in the club. ‘Moss’ and ‘Sugar Today, Tomorrow’ have the most potential with their nuanced rhythmic constructions.
The whole EP, but especially ‘Blood Moon’, strikes me as perfect tackle for Nick Hoppner’s spacious, spaced-out, hi-tek outernationalist sets. The track’s gentle rhythm and melodic elements settle behind a huge bassline, reminding me of a moment dancing to Nick years ago. On a somewhat sparse, small floor with four corners of Function One sound, Nick played a track that consisted only of kickdrum, hats and very mild atmosphere, all nestled subtly in a mix dominated by a massive, expertly engineered sub-bass note. The physical force of the sub was synesthesia-inducing. Was this a sound or an object? A song or a space? APY blurs the same non-boundaries here.
Two Shell - Icons [Mainframe Audio]
Techno / UK Bass
What’s most interesting to me about the indigenous UK genres currently en vogue – namely UK Garage and the UK Bass of Two Shell – is their techno-compatibility. In other words: their ability to blend nicely with techno records via beefy bottom ends, cracking snares, and razor-sharp hi-hats, bringing variety to the mix with distinctly non-techno rhythms and vocals. Check this Instinct cut for an example:
The appeal of this hybridizing accounts for the UK Techno of Batu, Forest Drive West, et al being the most popular and interesting strain of underground techno going in 2022. It’s not a new trend. The Bass & Breakbeat Bug bit the Zenker Brothers and Illian Tape crew long ago (cue video of the Zenkmen closing Hot Mass with DJ Deller’s ‘Romantic Call 2001’). Nonetheless, the formula remains a successful one.
That said, I do prefer these sounds as spice rather than the entree. My vague notion of what a Two Shell set sounds like leaves me content in my ignorance. This hasn’t stopped me from copping a few plates from the duo. After hearing my dude Brian (fka Father of Two) rip N35 on a lockdown stream, I immediately nabbed a copy recognizing its techno-crossover potential. The same impulse had me reaching for Icons. The EP has Two Shell expanding along both Techno and HyperPop vectors. The latter brings things very close to my personal no-fly-zone, but the spice is still right and vocals pulled from Portal’s machine-gun robots on two tracks definitely didn’t hurt its case for me.
Despite owning this 12” and spending the time to recommend it to others, I’m a bit wary of how these would actually be received on a floor of dancers over the age of 30. Maybe this will be a cringe grip in a few years but until then, ‘Ghosts’, ‘Dust’ and ‘Memory’ are all capable of soundtracking big dancefloor moments.
Underground bona fides aside – Icons is a fantastic avant-pop EP. Huge vocal loops, neon synthetic melodies and familiar samples form a pop music that articulates our cyber-frenetic present as well as a high-tek-hyphy temporal zone beyond our own. The lack of innovation in pop is a longstanding critique of the genre. Icons squashes this and leaves me wondering who else might be doing the same.
Unfortunately the wax is a disappointment. The pressing is quiet and loses some of the hi-rez sheen of the digital. Maxing out the gain couldn’t bring the A-side tracks to normal levels on my mixer. I’m no mastering engineer but I think cutting 15+ minutes of music at 45 to one side is a big no-no. Head to the Two Shell Bandcamp to grip the digis.
EYE BM - EYE BM (Slow Motion Records)
Italo / Acid House
I don’t know if it’s a new development or an ongoing trend I’m just becoming aware of, but Italo is ascendant in 2022. Off the top, I’ve heard it in the music of recent fav, Demi Requisimo, Viewtiful Joe and even in haus/prog hype-beastmaster, Idris Bena’s newest. The injection of flamboyant synths, euphoric melodies and pop sensibilities is most welcomed. It seems like a natural progression (regression?) as the tides of genre revivalism continue to ebb further into the past. If 2019 felt like 1997, 2022 is sounding more like 1987.
EYE BM is the most autentico of the bunch. All analog production? Made by irl Italians? Alexander Robotnick remix? Killer throwback artwork? Please tick all boxes. The A-side houses the truest-school cuts. EYE BM 1 starts with chugging drums, a loopy synth sequence and lovely Drexciyan pads before a too-simple lead hook has me tuning out. Unfortunately this hook is the main conceit of the Robotnik remix – straight to the B for me.
EYE BM 2 is lab-engineered Tony Bait. Knocking, simple four-four drums and druggy acidic synths join forces with Energy Flash’s “XTC, XTC” sample (a sound so deeply programmed to dump serotonin I can’t resist the corniest of EF-samplers) to make a pseudo-moody, raucous party-stormer for enjoyment by you, all your friends, mom, dad, mee maw and pep pep.
EYE BM 3 is a plodding, 95 bpm cosmic snooze until you smash the 45 button. Once engaged, it becomes a rowdy, raunchy, peaky Italo/Acid bomb, equally sweat-drenched and unapologetically over-the-top as Numero Due. I ripped this one at 45 to properly convey its power.
The physical presentation smashes as well. A full art sleeve by Liorzh is the perfect visual representation of the irradiated sonic slime within. Green translucent wax stands in for the vaguely glowing writhing rave-lizards, who occasionally clear the sweat-box condensation off their corneas with a lighting-quick lick of the eyeball.
Digis available from the Slow Motion Bandcamp.
EYE BM 3 on 45 is fire! Makes me wonder how many other amazing fastjams are hiding in the SM catalogue...