- Roska's Kicks & Snares label has gradually grown from tiny entrepreneurial operation to burgeoning Funky empire, and birthed some of the young genre's most durable anthems in the process. After a slew of EPs from established artists, RKS brings the unfortunately named Mr. Tickle to the fore, bolstering Funky's automated rhythms with a bit of good old fashioned dubstep muscle.
A-side "Citrus (Don't Get Lemon)" is an odd one, riding on aluminum percussion and shakers as grating, abrasive chords scrape layers off of your eardrums. The minimal and elastic track is poked and prodded by odd vocal samples (don't get lemon!) and even air horns as its main melody cuts through from strange, uncomfortable angles. Rinse FM DJ Shox pries the track open a bit, giving it a classier soca-inflected house makeover, and the bass-heavy bounce works in favour of the track's impact.
It's even stranger that "Citrus" is the A when you've got a track like "Predator" sitting right in the middle—one of the most inspiring recent Funky tracks this side of DJ Champion, "Predator" spitefully spits out fierce percussion over LFO wobbles that feel like they're ripping through the ground like construction paper: it's visceral, monstrous, a little playful and just sexy enough to keep it Funky. The other two tracks feel like hangers-on, but "Grinding" is at least texturally interesting, slamming Blawan-style drum detonations while "Run the Style" is the other side of the divide of the dubstep/Funky axis, playing out a halftime skank that feels limp and lifeless. With tracks like "Predator," however, Mr. Tickle emerges as a surprising new voice in an insular and conservative scene.
Tracklist 01. Citrus (Don't Get Lemon)
02. Grinding
03. Predator
04. Run the Style
05. Citrus (Shox Remix)