PRE-ORDER: Monkey Steak - Hyped Up/Bombeiros/Tigris Riddim/Haarlem Drift [SteakHouse]

Bristol bass fiends Atki2 and Hanuman – collectively Monkey Steak - have a pretty admirable record for pulling together the best bits of many of the globe’s bass mutations. The first release for their Steak House label was strangely psychedelic, despite its often rapid-fire nature – next to Mr. Gasparov’s comparatively delicate ‘1975’, Lisbon duo Octa Push’s pair of tracks were positively manic, both furiously addictive slabs of funky-infused electro noise. Meanwhile, their recent 12” for the Idle Hands label has proven to be one of the year’s best, notable especially for Atki2 and Dub Boy’s stunning ‘Tigerflower’. It also welcomed a less obvious aspect to their sound, favouring gradual change and melodic progression over simple dancefloor action.

The second release for Steak House sees Atki2 and Hanuman further explore both sides of that split personality: both tracks on the A-side hit like a ton of bricks from the off. ‘Hyped Up!’ and its counterpart riddim ‘Bombeiros’ rattle along at a nerve-busting 150 bpm, their tightly syncopated percussion and frazzled stabs of synth more akin to Octa Push or Buraka Som Sistema’s electrified kuduro than the slightly more sedate vibes of UK funky. The presence of Ghislain Poirier collaborator MC Zulu only serves to solidify this connection, his ever-escalating excitement impressively suited to the music’s manic nature.

The duo’s more experimental side, though, is far better represented on the flip. ‘Tigris Riddim’ is one of the most intriguing hybrids to have emerged so far this year, centred around a lopsided Arabian folk sample that curls around the beat like plumes of shisha smoke. It’s also one of the best, its cut-and-paste nature making it a pleasure to unpick on a decent pair of headphones. Though faster again, ‘Haarlem Drift’ continues in a similar vein, giving equal priority to musical development as to raw dance energy, and in doing so significantly upping its longevity. Though the scorched carnival atmosphere of Zulu’s contribution remains true to this music’s basic purpose, the slightly more exploratory bent they’re taking on the B-side suits Monkey Steak well. Long may it continue.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Link:
http://steakhouse-records.blogspot.com/

PRE-ORDER: Octa Push - Deixa/Baila Mundo/Dubshh [Iberian]

After the one-two blow of Relocate’s ‘Hard Boogie For Dub Swingers’ EPs, Iberian Records’ next release steps up to deliver the decisive knockout blow. Stylistic miles from Relocate’s delicate dubstep-house infusions, Octa Push share certain similarities with fellow Lisbon disco-wreckers Buraka Som Sistema – all grimy bleeps and rough-edged bass drive. Yet while Buraka operate with at least a semblance of subtlety at times, the three tracks here are relentless in their quest for thicker, faster dance floor thrills.

Lead track ‘Deixa’ pitches itself somewhere in the grey area where kuduro’s high-speed bounce meets the balls-out aggression of grime. MC Toni Clean’s highly percussive vocal utterances are further shredded by the duo’s blender-like approach to production, creating a disorientating maze of gutteral grunts and pants around which bursts of hard-edged sub-bass gather pace. The overall effect is senseless but cheekily compulsive, its restless energy leaving little room for anything other than motion.

On the flip, MC Zulu at least provides a little more comprehensible sense in his chat, even if it mostly consists of dancefloor hype and breathless exhortations to an imaginary crowd. The track in question, ‘Baila Mundo,’ continues where ‘Dexia’ left off, with a relentless stomp reminiscent of a continental version of The Bug’s gritty digital dancehall.

Best of the three tracks here though is the last, the appropriately named ‘Dubshh,’ which strips away the chest-beating factor provided by the MCs, leaving behind a pulsing house-influenced instrumental not a million miles from UK funky’s darker regions. Its stop-start dynamics are curiously offset by a fluorescent synth theme that drifts slowly across the track’s length, leaving something of a confused taste in the mouth – neither totally testosterone-fuelled nor entirely contemplative, the result is a track both weighty on a big system and strangely relaxing. Not the easiest contradiction to come to terms with, but a welcome one.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Link:
www.myspace.com/octapush

PRE-ORDER: Mr. Gasparov – 1975/Octa Push - Ai Nadia & Laika Likes It [Steak House]

Sometime Bristol, sometime London duo Monkeysteak have announced the first 12” release from their new label Steak House, promising to deliver "pure carnival fire" through outsourcing global bass sounds. Over the last few years, the internet’s increasing ubiquity and ever-faster connection speeds have turned the cross-pollination of bass culture into a truly worldwide phenomenon. As well as giving rise to DJs who no longer stick exclusively to one style of music, this has enabled dubstep’s influence to bleed into other localised urban genres – and vice versa, as the Africanised percussive patterns of UK funky can attest to.

Surprisingly, given the label’s dynamic manifesto, Mr. Gasparov’s contribution is a curiously muted way to open their first 12”. Which is not to detract from the track at all – ‘1975’ is a woozy piece of two-step infused house that gradually layers up over its length, from the sparsest of synthetic melodies to an eerie carnival of sampled voices and dizzying instrumental tessellation. It’s still more of a slow-burning brushfire than a massive electrical explosion, which certainly could not be said of Octa Push who bring the promised fireworks on the flip.

‘Ai Nadia’ kicks the reverse off in fine form, its tightly syncopated beat loaded with elements from a whole host of different genres – the propulsive skip of garage, funky’s tribal machinations and the grimey crunch of kuduro. It’s the best thing on here by a long way, a little reminiscent of contemporaries Buraka Som Sistema in sheer bass aggression and lent a distinctly local air by deftly chopped ‘n’ sliced Portugese vocal shards. The fast and furious garage hybrid of ‘Laika Likes It’ wears its UK influences more overtly, a little bit of London attitude ensnared in its suggestive female vocals and bubbling subs.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: 26th October 2009

Link:
www.myspace.com/mrgasparov
www.myspace.com/octapush
www.myspace.com/steakhouserecords

PRE-ORDER: Relocate – Origins/Dot Dot Dash (Buraka Som Sistema Remix) [Iberian Records]

The third plate from Lisbon and Barcelona-based Iberian Records (so an appropriate label name then) is part two of Relocate’s cheekily named ‘Hard Boogie For Dub Swingers’ EP. The first part emerged earlier in the year, at around the same time as he released a gorgeous house-infused dubstep remix of Kontext’s ‘Plumes’ on Immerse.

Continuing where the first plate left off, lead track ‘Origins’ is dusky and understated, a nocturnal excursion thorough that well-tread middle ground between dubstep and techno with its metronomic kicks and delicately bristling snare patterns. There’s a certain Bristolian element buried in its monochrome synth stabs and echo-drenched voices – this brittle, metallic quality is occasionally reminiscent of Appleblim’s early material for Skull Disco, and wouldn’t sound out of place on Tectonic. Still, its very subtlety marks it out: less a disco-wrecker than a slow-building, hypnotic roller, the ever-present rumble of sub bass pressure is as warm and cocooning as it is propulsive.

By way of contrast, then, the Buraka Som Sistema remix of ‘Dot Dot Dash’ on the flip is a beast: the Lisbon collective take the original’s four-to-the-floor pulse and rebuild the groove over the top entirely, subverting the techno elements with muscular, gritty aggression. Its repeated melodic motif and sudden bursts of feedback are all that remain, but are dragged along by a sinewy, elastic bassline that stretches almost to breaking point before snapping back for the drop. It’s minimalist in structure but deadly in its execution, limb-twitching kuduro percussion married to a grinding low-end that through a big system is liable to cause the gut equivalent of tinnitus.

Despite the wildly different nature of the two tracks here, it is to Buraka’s credit that they preserve Relocate’s tonal palette even as they up the energy levels. It exposes a successful shared goal – to bring a little European twilight to the dance.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: 21st September ‘09

Link:
www.myspace.com/relocatebeats
www.myspace.com/iberianrecords