- Streetbass, the word that Philadelphian Starkey and his cohorts use to describe their music, seems no worse than the much disputed wonky term or any of the other attempts to name the ill describable dubstep-electro-hip-hop hybrid that has taken the electronic music world by storm. But whatever genre tag you assign to it, it's clear that Starkey's beats are attention-grabbing and build up a catchy but askew groove.
On the A-side Jamie Vex'd gives his take on "Miracles," the original of which featured on Starkey's 2008 album Ephemeral Exhibits. Treading similar territory as on his recent In System Travel EP, Vex'd lays a heavy and lazy rock sounding beat over a quire of synths and a booming bassline. The loud and big drums and ticking hi-hats are reminiscent of brash '80s drum machine hip-hop and, along with the pimped out melodies, this tune sounds like it could be the laidback soundtrack to a yet-unmade sci-fi blaxploitation movie.
"Creature," however, is anything but laidback. Starting off with a tempered and filtered version of the main synth refrain, the track bubbles and frizzles until erupting like a neon-coloured synth geyser. The rolling lead synth wrestles with the growling offbeat bassline as autotuned vocals and crunk sounding synth stabs are thrown into the mix, creating a chaotic—and great-sounding—number.
Tracklist A Miracles (Jamie Vexd Remix)
B Creature