Bob Barker - Broken Labour

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  • Bob Barker is a new(ish) UK producer on an equally young label, and his solo debut on Catch Recordings makes it worth taking notice of both. On Broken Labour, Barker crafts long, flowing compositions embellished with field recordings and other odd effects. The approach is typified by "Rondel." It's built on a ground-shaking kick drum, but the biggest impression comes from the peripheries. A booming helicopter zooms in and out of earshot, endowing the track with a massive soundstage that makes its grandiose synth riff all the more appropriate. Ryan Davis seizes on that epic feeling for his proggy rework. He straightens out the synth line before it all turns grizzled, slipping into a melancholic section straight out of the Guy Gerber playbook. "Firbeck" is a classic B-side, more restrained than its counterpart and moving with an almost fragile majesty. Layers upon layers of faraway pads bloom in the backdrop, while a slow-motion breakbeat rattles over the top. It's all meted out with a precise delicacy, which Swiss duo Greenville Massive mangle on their remix. Where Davis saw a thread in the source material and weaved a whole new chapter out of it, their take on "Firbeck" is a pillowy but uninspiring deep house version that smothers everything intriguing about the original.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Rondel A2 Rondel (Ryan Davis Pandora Reshape) B1 Firbeck B2 Firbeck (Greenville Massive Remix)
RA