PRE-ORDER: V.I.V.E.K. – Feel It EP [Deep Medi]

The latest release on Mala’s Deep Medi imprint is a four track double pack from one of their finest new signings V.I.V.E.K. It comes on the back of his first Medi release last year ‘Kulture’ b/w ‘Meditation Rock’ and countless dubplates that you’ll no doubt have heard if you’ve checked the Anti Social Entertainment on Rinse FM. Fusing digidub, soundsystem deep bass, rolling percussion, a hint of Berlin techno it all adds up to those ‘Medi’ style vibes; eyes down, blissed out, heavy weight music.

The title track, ‘Feel It’ kicks things off in fine style with some of the most infectious rolling tablas - his percussion is just sublime. A vocal sample declaring the weight of your bass and the largeness of your soundsystem is all the track needs to usher in a chest thumping sub sonic bass tone and there is no way back you’re sucked into that soup of sub bass frequencies. ‘Grandfather Clock’ counts down to a dance floor meltdown when the metronome-like sample, half tempo drum patterns and hefty bass melts into blazing techno buzzes that just keep coming, it’s those killer synths that make it, truly coming from nowhere.

The deeply blissful ‘Motherland’ is one for the meditative crew, subtle but weighty bass pulses roll off half stepping rhythms, tablas and all that good stuff all accented with Indian vocals instrumentation. It’s so deep, minimal it would make Youngsta proud. The final track ‘Strategy’ is a roller with a garage kind of swing to it, it skips along with big room dub techno chords twisting in and out of the bumpy beats it really comes alive and picks up the pace.

Pure vibes all the way.



Words: James Balf
Out: Soon

Links:

www.myspace.com/vivek321
www.myspace.com/deepmedi

PRE-ORDER: V.I.V.E.K - Kulture/Meditation Rock [Deep Medi]

It’s probably inevitable given the curator, but Mala’s Deep Medi imprint has yet to disappoint. The label debut for Antisocial Entertainment member V.I.V.E.K luckily upholds this trend - both tracks are drenched in aquatic echo and old school soundsystem atmosphere, landing somewhere between Bristolian introspection and sci-fi futurism.

Of the two, ‘Kulture’ is the dancefloor monster, welding a sandpaper-edged three-note theme to thumping techno low end. The results are formidable, escalating to collapse point before imploding to leave only a dubby breakdown. Far better though is ‘Meditation Rock,’ sharing traits with DMZ’s manifesto in both name and nature. After the cosmic chaos of ‘Kulture,’ it initially comes across as a little sparse, pivoting around nothing but clouds of dense bass and a halfstep crawl reminiscent of Kryptic Minds’ recent ‘One Of Us’ long player. Two minutes in a muted string section begins to emerge from the depths of the mix, rising in prominence to form a slow complementary melody above the bass maelstrom. It’s as close as dance music can get to pure ambience, a melancholy and keening piece of music that presents itself far better as an insular track than a mixed tune. Further evidence, I suppose, that the outer reaches of dubstep nurture some truly impressive, genre-defying talent.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Link:
www.myspace.com/vivek321

DOWNLOAD: V.I.V.E.K. - Electro East Mix

I love shit like this. I knew nothing about this dude but now i'm hooked. Fusing subtle percussion with the kind of muffled kicks that soak my jean-shorts through, V.I.V.E.K. has officially made his entrance into my consciousness.

Judging by the title it looks like a mix put together for Nerm's BBC Asian Network show, Electro East, so its entirely his own productions. Mans is affiliated with Heny G and Silkie's Anti Social Entertainment clique and he's reportedly got a 12" forthcoming on Mala's Deep Medi Musik too.

Look out.

DOWNLOAD: V.I.V.E.K. - Electro East Mix

Tracklist:

Change
Strategy
Groove On
Engage
Shift
Untitled
Meditation Rock
Feel It

Link:
www.myspace.com/vivek321