A. What You Do With What You HaveB. Vibe DecorumMarked out as one to watch by ourselves back in January, Blawan has more than proved us right, debuting on R&S with the Bohla EP and following it with an array of essential productions and remixes. Top of the list naturally was that massively popular white label “Getting Me Down”, as well as a stellar contribution to the Hessle 116 & Rising comp, and the honour of remixing arch Oxford miserablists Radiohead.
Furthermore the Yorkshire lad has undertaken a new project with fellow R&S alumni Pariah in Karenn, as well as collaborating with Analogue Cops on a forthcoming Restoration twelve. News of the release of “What You Do With What You Have” will please the thousands of people that have been streaming a YouTube rip since it got aired on Rinse back in the spring.
It’s understandable too, as “What You Do With What You Have” twists a mangled sample of KDJ through the Blawan mixer of gnarled out acid lines, thumping drums and cavernous techno stabs. It’s complemented by “Vibe Decorum”, which is an equally fine example of Blawan’s talent for weaving vocal hooks into a unique sounding melange of drums and jagged rhythms, even going so far as to sample a round of ping pong...www.junodownload.com
1. Bohla 2. Kaz 3. Lavender The R&S renaissance continues with three uniquely lethal tracks from one of the UK's most exciting young producers. Like Untold before him, Blawan respectfully infuses his hardcore swung rhythms with a sound most commonly associated with the label, the good 'ol 303. It forms an integral part of each track, from the chirruping squiggles smudged into the loping swingjack groove of 'Bohla' to the detuned gurgles eating into complex tribal polyrhythms on 'Kaz' or dissolved into the bass-sunken new world jack of 'Lavender'. Aside from sounding fiercely technoid and alien, his use of acid sequences with swung or broken patterns exposes a vital connection between Belgian and UK hardcore dance musics, where tribal febrility meets cybernetic reality in a marriage of exotic futurism...www.boomkat.com
A. Fram
B. Iddy
No fussing, Hessle Audio command the dance with two deadly cuts from Blawan. So, who is Blawan? We haven't got a clue! We've heard rumours that it could be the recording alter-ego of the notoriously production shy Ben UFO, but as we say, they're rumours and completely unfounded! Either way, these are seriously hot tracks. 'Fram' on the A-side flicks out a proper dancer's spesh with cold, post-garage drums twisted into swerving junglist syncopations while warped techno synths add a quasi-speed hyperglide tension. On the flip 'Iddy' bats out a whole other set of percussion; tungsten-tipped, pointillist rimshots, hollow toms and insectoid hi's to give your limbs multiple options on the flex. If Untold, Scuba, Burial, Ramadanman or T++ make you dance like you're the only person in the room, this is a must!...www.boomkat.com
