a. Skream & Cluekid - Sandsnake
b. Skream - Movin SnaresAfter much speculation the debut release on Skream's very own "Disfigured Dubz" is finally with us - and its a blinder. The a-side collaboration with Cluekid revolves around a looped Amen Break and demented bass that are both so loud and crisp that it puts to shame anything else that's spun on our decks today - and that's before you even bring those shocking stabs into the equation. "Moving Snares" on the flipside finds our man operating solo and taking a few measured risks - primarily with the dense Technoid structure that dominates the track, enforcing those myriad rumours that the twin engines of dubstep and techno are soon to be conjoined into a single heaving generic mass that's going to take over dancefloors the world over. On the evidence given on this track - here's hoping. Killer twelve - upfront copies!
01 The Platform
02 Fluteorgie
03 Wet Summer
04 The Happy Monster
05 Gas
06 The Chopper
07 Raido
08 Birds
09 Faceless Is More
10 The Angry Ghost
11 SingalongIt's one thing to not know how to use apostrophes, but it's quite another to misuse them in such a massive font. Perhaps John Dahlback can be excused for this on the basis that he's a bit foreign (Swedish, to be more specific), but you could equally excuse him based upon the blisteringly high quality of this singles collection. In this package you get such incendiary dancefloor shakers as 'The Platform' and 'The Happy Monster', applying the sort of economical, brain-meltingly distorted synth riffs that can't help but make you smile, On top of that there's garishly good fun to be had with tracks like 'Wet Summer', 'The Chopper' and 'Singalong', all of which set feisty, crispened up beats alongside massive, slavering electronic melodies. Elsewhere other highlioghts arrive via the bloopy arpeggios of 'Raido' (suggestive of fellow Scandinavians Royksopp), and the surreal oscillations of 'Birds' (which goes a bit Alter Ego). There's nothing here that could be described as a slouch - no filler, just an orgy of stripped down dancefloor high jinks.
1 Low Pressure Zone 2 Embryo 3 High Strung 4 Dulcet 5 Lucid Dream 6 Birth Interlude 7 Talisman 8 Nexus 9 Sempiternal 10 Serendipity Dub Fans of Burial, take note. Lo Dubs come correct this week with a hugely enticing and anticipated album from Clubroot. Clubroot has apparently been producing for the best part of the decade, initially constructing tech step D'n'B indebted to the likes of Nico, Ed Rush and Optical but shifting his palette to the dominant dubstep style in recent years. To sum up Clubroots sound as succinctly as possible, it's like the perfect hybrid of Burial and Kryptic Minds, taking the mood driven atmospheres and quicksilver slink of Burial and alloying it to dynamic basslines and intricately produced rhythm structures. This combination is explored through ten tracks united by a singular rhythmic vision in thrall to classic darkside dance music and operating under the cover of severely occluded atmospheres. With Mary-Anne Hobbs fully on his case and forums across the interweb quickly catching onto his sound it's not going to be long before he's soundtracking every channel four ident so make sure to get in early! Essential recommendation for fans of Burial!!!
1. Cobra2. Jump3. Can You Show Me What Head IsThree thunderous dubs from 16Bit launched from Kromestar's Southside Dub Stars imprint. Lead cut 'Cobra' picks Indian tablas and sitars as its source material before mangling them into shape on a rugged display of dynamic halfstep for the rave. 'Jump' on the flip is our pick of the bunch, setting the riddim with skanking piano stabs which 16-Bit duly fills in with growling synthlines while managing to keep a heavyweight flow. 'Can You Show Me What Head Is' flips this formula inversely for a out-and-out nasty riddim flecked with ragga samples to provide a neat textural counterpoint. Nasty, Nasty, Nasty...www.boomkat.com
