- London producer Jack Robertson, AKA Thefft, seems like one of those producer's producers, a DJ's DJ. I can't even count how many times another DJ or label owner has told me "you gotta check out his stuff." November saw his debut on Kerri Chandler's Madtech and now he hits Atlanta-based Embassy Records for two off-kilter tracks.
"Name Shame" is the slower of the two, with a sway so drunken and jumbled it sounds as if one of its joints were broken. The pitched-down, slurring vocal only adds to the blurred-vision effect. But Robertson's success lies in the little unconventionalities, like how he filters his drums into a jellied splotch while the kicks continue to hit with sharp, jabbing low-end—or the way overheated chords seem to melt over the track's uneven gait.
Speeding things up considerably, "No Want That" feels more in tune with garage, though it's one where the skip comes from a drum accidentally slipping out of time. Again, the drums are softened into hissy mid-range blobs that somehow still pack a wallop, this time floating on a choppy sea of writhing bass.
Tracklist 01. Name Shame
02. No Want That