Michael Red - Modern Math 002

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  • Michael Red, the Low Indigo boss and an early dubstep adopter in Vancouver, took a different path from his peers when he moved to BC's idyllic Sunshine Coast. It's no surprise, then, that this EP sounds like it was made in isolation. This second release on Calgary's Modern Math showcases his idiosyncratic brand of dance music, birthed from a deep-seated love of dub and R&B, and written from faint memories instead of direct inspirations. Red uses patterns and ideas that are familiar—the open spaces of dubstep, the skitter of garage—but he puts them together in unfamiliar ways. "Fade To Light" has a definite swing, yet it's tight and neurotic like late '90s IDM. The array of nondescript noises and heavy-handed reverb has more to do with dub techno, while the fragmented bassline and vocal samples sound like early Hessle Audio. But taken as a whole, "Fade To Light" sounds like none of these things. "Stir" is even more withdrawn, with all the elements held so tightly together they're reduced to slivers of sound, especially the stuttering vocal cut-ups. Representing the spacier end of Red's live sets, "Sideways" is all massive reverb and sub-aquatic atmospheres, pulled along by a persistent tom that tugs like a water current. "No Smoke No Fire" has the EP's most straightforward beat and is also the sparest cut here. The shards of colour almost make up a chord progression, but they're more of a hint than a revelation. All of Red's work is like that—alluring and just a little bit mysterious, and never allowing you too close a look.
  • Tracklist
      01. Fade To Light For 02. Stir 03. Sideways 04. No Smoke No Fire
RA