- Quickly after their promising first, Brighton based Black Key is back with a second deep house EP, this time from another young producer in the form of Liverpool's Andy Ash. Despite his youth, Ash is clearly well-versed in the history of Chicago house. It courses rich through the veins of his work. Here he gets nice and loose, with plenty of lively percussive action embedded amongst wavy, slo-mo house beats that lope like lazy teenagers on a humid summer's day.
"Broken" is marbled with vinyl hiss and crackle, its congas sound distant and thin synths speak of the future while a jazzy keyboard loop keeps things firmly rooted in the past. It feels cosy and familiar, surreptitiously growing into a tastefully triumphant swagger. Ugly Drums strips things back to cute little jazzy stabs, flailing percussion and lethargic drums that wiggle with each understated rotation. It's smoky and cosy basement house for those sensuous early evenings, whereas Ash's "Distro Yet" is a much busier, chattier analogue house workout that deals in a pleasing rawness.
Tracklist01. Broken
02. Broken (Ugly Drums remix)
03. Distro Yet
Digital release: Broken (Tom Sevinski remix)