Various Artists - Something New / Roulette

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  • Following Julio Bashmore's lauded chillout jam "Footsteppin," Doc Daneeka's label Ten Thousand Yen presents a split EP that fits rather well into the self-consciously classy London-centric "dubbage" movement. A deliberate reaction to the sometimes-formulaic triplet bounce of UK funky, dubbage finds its foundation in the softer side of classic UK garage. And while this release may not be explicitly dubbage, its smooth and restrained accessibility certainly hints at such territory. Both production teams on TTY004 actually hail from Cardiff, but you wouldn't be able to tell from their on-point house. Newcomers Didz & Chico make their debut with "Something New," a soul-flecked piece of soft-rock garage. Rave-up house chords fix themselves onto a creamy-smooth backdrop as sparkling motifs and dulcet vibes pad the impact of the shuffling beat: it's laidback, but a far cry from boring. Quartet C.R.S.T appear with "Roulette," which starts out airy and light before a monster of a drop. The meat of "Roulette" is admittedly much closer to UK funky, but its impact is more visceral: imagine three Roskas playing at once. The track's percussion slithers into syncopated limbo somewhere in between funky and garage, but the tune's clever progression is proficient and highly functional. Frankly, that's a problem I've had with C.R.S.T in the past: they sound too professional, too polished, but that's not an issue here. The bloodlust that strangles the two-note organ with enormous drums is about as basely ferocious as you can get.
  • Tracklist
      A Didz & Chico - Something New B C.R.S.T. - Roulette
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