Starkey - Ephemeral Exhibits

1. Gutter Music 
2. Pictures 
3. Miracles 
4. Dark Alley 
5. Escape
6. Marsh 
7. Pressure 
8. Time Traveler
9. Striking Distance 
10. Last Chance 
11. Bang Bang The Witch Is Dead 
12. Spacewalk 

After a string of massively well recieved 12"s for Werk Discs, Lo Dubs, Ruff, Trouble&Bass and his own Starksound imprint, Philly based producer Starkey unloads his debut album for the esteemed Planet Mu label. Starkey was one of the first American heads to turn on to UK grime and dubstep styles some years back, and has since developed his own brand of hyper-riffin and electro infected grime which has found him favour with Jamie Vex'd who picked him to represent on Mary-Anne Hobbs' Generation Bass showcase. Starkey has pretty much nailed the angular grime style on opener 'Gutter Music' with a nod to Wiley style synth slashes, and further developed into colourful avenues on 'Pictures'. Crowd favourite 'Miracles' is worthy of high praise, with an affectingly grimy melody attached to Burial style vocal samples, and 'Dark Alley' again takes elements of Burial with midnight stabs combined into a krunky movement which soon gives way to a smart 2-step mutation sounding like Vex'd on poppers. The razor sharp synths and fluttering guttural bass on 'Pressure' deserve to become a club hit, while his take on the mid range rollers style with 'Striking Distance' provide a far more matured version of Kromestar or anything off Z-Audio. Final track 'Spacewalk' makes the electronica connection to Planet Mu with a floaty stepper with some prime harmonic compositions not sounding a million miles from Mike Paradinas. If you loved the Vex'd album for Planet Mu or have a soft spot for Drop The Lime or melodically effective grime and electronics, this one's for you!