Elmono - Baton Rouge / Shadows Of The Moon

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  • "I need the dark menacing edginess back." That's how Pinch described his dissatisfaction with the UK dance climate in a short interview with FACT on the subject of his new Cold Recordings imprint. The label is intended to explore the fertile territory between 120 and 130 BPM, imbued with the moody vibe Pinch pines for. Its first release is a promising one, from relative unknown and Cardiff native Elmono. "Baton Rouge" has the four-to-the-floor kick that's become ubiquitous in UK music, but saddled to a wormy bassline straight off a vintage Shackleton record. With a tapestry of rough vocal samples (deep and male rather than garage's feminine chirps) and a synth line that sounds like it's gasping for air, there's a thick and paranoid atmosphere to the whole thing. "Shadows On The Moon" is altogether more friendly. Smooth and polished like marble, both its central refrain and the sections in between feel dangerous, like they could bust loose at any moment. Where its flipside was panicky, this one uses the sleeker side of darkness, a sinister flip of the current garage revival. It's hard to say what exactly separates it from Pinch's Tectonic output, but either way, Elmono's debut slots nicely into a growing cohort of producers re-excavating the depths of the UK's urban anxiety.
  • Tracklist
      A Baton Rouge B Shadows On The Moon
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