KEL - Irritant

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  • KEL is a new alias from Skudge's Elias Landberg, and TANSTAAFL PLANETS is a new offshoot of John Osborn and October's Berlin/Bristol-based label, which was originally founded to show off their own street-tough house. Skudge are a pretty good match for the Berlin-Bristol duo's no-frills analogue sound, and Landberg delivers with three peak-time jams that blur the lines between house and techno. "Traces" springs along on a skewed bassline that suggests acid with each broad stroke, while sustained chords in the background add an eerie tint. But the real star of the track is the hi-hat, which hits in triplets on the offbeat, a minor switch-up that adds considerable momentum and a touch of swing to an otherwise customary house tune. "MKS" sounds big-room in comparison. It's built on a two-chord phrase couched in just the right amount of reverb and delay, and though a gurgling bassline hints at something darker, it's easy to imagine it working in both the light of day and the dead of night. Built on a more forceful techno foundation, "Irritant" is also the most melodic thing here, with brass pads boxed in by ping-ponging snares. Like the music on PLANETS' parent label, these tracks are to-the-point, with no ambitions beyond working a dance floor—and like Osborn and October's tunes, they're well-executed with a flair for hookiness that doesn't get in the way of a good groove.
  • Tracklist
      A Irritant B1 Mks B2 Traces
RA