- Beneath's output to date has explored an alternate present where UK funky's boisterous syncopations and the paranoid atmospheres of Metalheadz reign supreme. Much like his contribution to the recent Tectonic Plates compilation, this new EP for Niche 'N Bump suggests he's looking to expand on that aesthetic.
"Strike A Pose" is the weirder of the two tracks, sporting an odd off-beat kick pattern and stark synth melodies that outline the barest skeleton of a tune. Walker chops queasily between beat patterns in the breakdown—he has a taste for fiddly percussive edits—before lurching into a jittery full-pelt groove. "Bellz" is straight by comparison, with all of Beneath's familiar trademarks in place: the imposing bassline, the flickering hi-hats, the insistent 4/4 kick. But in the latter half, the titular sample, which had previously held down a sort of backbeat, launches into strange, off-key accord with the bassline. Straightforward club gear this ain't.
Samrai and Platt of Manchester's Swing Ting crew seem like a logical choice for a remix, given the overlap between the Niche 'N Bump aesthetic and their bombastic cross-genre hybrids for Fat City (not to mention Samrai's lithe number on the recent Keysound Allstars compilation). Their rework of "Bellz" sands down the original's brutalist edges, leaving a sleek bass-led house number, peppered with clap syncopations and frosty clouds of texturing.
Tracklist 01. Strike A Pose
02. Bellz (Swing Ting Remix)
03. Bellz