Dizzee Rascal / Wen - Strings Hoe (Wen Refix)

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  • It's to both Dizzee Rascal and Wen's credit that latter's refix of Dizzee's ten year-old tune still bangs so hard a year after it first surfaced. It's Wen's second release for Keysound, and one that perfectly embodies the label's ongoing dialogue with the the last two decades of tough UK dance music, from jungle to grime and funky. Playing on the tension between nostalgia and hyper-modernity, this remix follows a formula similar to the one that made his debut, Commotion, so singular: sharply individuated parts, swells of potent sub-bass and crunchy synth stabs. Wen pitches the staccato string earworm of the original "Strings Hoe" down to a lonely figure accompanied by snatches of Dizzee's voice so truncated they become rhythmic markers in their own right. The simplicity of Darby's approach makes for a powerful end result. While his Dizzee remix is obviously the main draw, the B-side, "Signal," is one of Wen's most refined tunes so far. Its swaggering groove and crystalline, rapid-fire percussion sound like the skeleton of grime picked clean, auguring well for Wen's forthcoming debut album.
  • Tracklist
      01. Dizzee Rascal - Strings Hoe (Wen Refix) 02. Wen - Signal
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