The Earlyman - Malarkey

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  • The Earlyman is a UK producer making his name working with some prominent UK MCs, and Malarkey is the latest single to be lifted off of his debut Lola Una LP for Stop Start Recordings. Featuring a fearsome and reliable Killa P verse, the original is Orientalist dubstep, Asian strings compressed into dense wafts of pure heat as it teeters back and forth on its uneasy sub-bass foundations. Killa P's vocals are his usual mix of blank-faced gravitas and threatening monotones, and their almost drab qualities serve to highlight the intense activity going on in the background. In all fairness to The Earlyman, whose original production is nothing to sneeze at, this EP is all about the remixes. Each remixer provides a markedly different take on "Malarkey," placing it in a new genre and suggesting new possibilities for the malleability and accessibility of grime vocals. First up is Israeli dubstep/techno-weirdo Kalbata, who provides a seasick dubstep take, the bass riffs cresting into deliberately explosive percussion. His claustrophobic soundstage is nightmarishly chaotic, letting loose a number of loopy synth riffs and dive-bombing screeches until there's no room left to think. Kevin Martin's The Bug alias takes it a step further, dressing the track up in garb not too far from his fantastic 2007 London Zoo LP, as industrial percussion explodes into deafening waves of radioactive energy; even as its cacophonous frequencies threaten to start bursting veins, the intensity of Killa P's vocals are kept at the forefront, reflecting Martin's sheer expertise at this sort of vocal dread. The other two remixes are not quite up to these standards, but are fine nonetheless, with Heavy Deviance giving it a believable funk-infused drum & bass makeover (think Commix remixing Curtis Mayfield), while Quixx provides an L.A.-styled clipped hip-hop interpretation, placing the track in a shimmering oasis mirage instead of the sweaty third world tavern of the original.
  • Tracklist
      01. Malarkey 02. Malarkey (Kalbata Remix) 03. Malarkey (The Bug Remix) 04. Malarkey (Heavy Deviance Dub Mix) 05. Malarkey (Quixxx Remix)
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