- Kamal Joory revives his decade-old Hem alias for the latest release on his Berkane Sol imprint. Joory's work as Geiom has frequently tested dubstep's rhythmic limits, using elastic tempos, house beats and IDM's fractal pulses to tweak dubstep's familiar cadence; now he puts those tools to work on something closer to hip-hop.
"On a Mission," featuring Caribbean accented toasting from Terrible Shock, sounds a little like The Bug's version of digital dancehall, with minor key synth stabs setting a chilling mood; Joory's rhythmic signature is all over the rattling cans and whisk-like hi-hats. Geiom's frequent collaborator Shortstuff remixes the tune into rollicking UK funky, with frenzied carnival drums and handclaps pushing relentlessly forward and shrieking guiros adding manic uplift. The vocal dominates the first half, but the second half of the track is mostly instrumental, with gaping open space opening up around a skeletal 4/4 groove before filling up with uneasy synthesizer tones. For DJs who play twitchy, uptempo fare like Untold or Ramadanman, there's plenty of meat in the tune even if you skip the vocal.
The 100-BPM "Rich Chroma" is rhythmically dazzling, playing frantically swung 16th-note and triplet patterns off each other, and fusing wonky's burbling synths with breathtaking B-boy energy. But "Plastic Lily" might be the most impressive thing here, with ping-ponging synths and sampled percussion strung into a bouncing, irrepressible cadence that sounds like Raymond Scott in a pachinko parlor.
Tracklist01. On a Mission (Shortstuff refix)
02. Rich Chroma
03. Plastic Lily
04. On a Mission