Strago & Snooks - Infect

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  • As dubstep fragments and evolves, there's a very clear idea of what "traditional" or orthodox dubstep is supposed to sound like, namely brooding, subtle and weighty, with a clear sense of space and restraint. But for all the supposed kicking against the pricks, this sort of music can be just as dishearteningly formulaic as its "brostep" enemy. Thankfully, we have DJs like Youngsta who, with his Rinse CD earlier this year, reminded us that even the most "dubstep" of dubstep can still be home to experimentation. New label Niteshade Inc, run out of London's infamous Blackmarket Soho record shop, makes this its mission, hearkening back to the times when dubstep felt like the weirdest, most alien music around. Like most of the stuff Youngsta pushes these days, "Infect" has an almost techno sheen. The duo of Strago and Snooks abandon that primitive and cavernous dub sound for sleek aerodynamics as chords swell larger and larger over the horizon, bursting through as erupting pustules of putrid LFO. It's a level of "filth" that the midrange wobblers could only hope to achieve, partly because it only happens a few times in the track. "Kuru" feels like an unstable upgrade on classic Mala, with melodies stumbling and drums trembling so intensively that you fear (and hope) they will collapse in on themselves at any moment. Unabashedly modern but refreshingly backward-looking in its execution, the first release from Niteshade Inc offers an intriguing alternate answer—"right here"—to the always nagging "where next?" question.
  • Tracklist
      A Kuru B Infect
RA