It’s deceptively easy to get swept away in the constant barrage of new material coming from the post-garage/dubstep/UK-bass axis. Individual stand out pieces of music often end up fading into the background in favour of an unbroken mass of newness. The end result is a feeling of quantity over quality, or at the very least a serious case of split attention span. That feeling has escalated over the last couple of years as the scene’s increasingly gone global and split off into a thousand different strands. But once in a while something comes along that forces you to sit back and take stock for a little while, or holds your undivided love and attention for long enough to ignore the masses of sound streaming past on either side.
Drew Lustman’s music under his FaltyDL moniker is one of those rare things. Nothing he’s released thus far has fallen below the ‘utterly essential’ benchmark, largely because it so rarely stands still. Rather than remaining content to churn out 12” after 12” of re-arranged but essentially identical sounds, everything he’s put out so far - from the US/UK hybrid garage of Love Is A Liability to Endeavour’s restrained house experiments – has stood totally apart from its predecessors. In essence, Lustman is one of the very few musicians operating within this sphere that use their influences like gene pools to draw upon for individual flashes of inspiration, rather than allowing them to restrict the breadth of their ambitions.
That’s the reason he appears to be so strikingly original – with only a love of Luke Vibert and early breakcore binding everything together, his shifts between tempo passing those sounds through various different filters: house, garage, dubstep, electronica. ‘Regret’, his forthcoming contribution to Hotflush’s Back & 4th label compilation, is one of the most sophisticated examples of that approach so far. After allowing a bass-less breakbeat to gather momentum and intensity over a backdrop of swelling ambience, Lustman finally allows all it’s pent up tension to release in a deft two-step groove. It’s both utterly energizing and curiously relaxing, as though by suspending hyperspeed drums in mid-air he strips them of their grounded, floor-filling effect. It’s a similar trick to the one used by ambient junglists like LTJ Bukem and Source Direct - accelerating breakbeats to the point at which they’re faster than the body’s metabolism; when, as Simon Reynolds writes, “rhythm itself becomes a susurrating, soothing stream of ambience.”
And Lustman certainly deserves to be ranked at the same level as the pioneers. He’s not merely regurgitating his influences - he’s remoulding them into the shape of a unique and exciting cross-Atlantic narrative. His new single ‘Hip Love’ for Ramp (his last before fantastic new album You Stand Uncertain is released on Planet Mu) is ample evidence of that, as it’s probably his finest single track so far. Once again set around rapid-fire programmed beats that form a curiously downbeat backdrop, he playfully sets shards of brass and a yearning vocal sample to ricochet across its surface, occasionally colliding in glorious flashes of harmony. The end result is at once exhilarating and exhausting, and imbued with more emotion (both implicit and explicit) than almost anything yet to have emerged from the fray surrounding dubstep. Yeah, it’s that good.
On the flipside, Jamie XX’s remix would always have struggled to match the stunning original, and it’s to his credit that he doesn’t attempt to. Rather, he builds an entirely different sort of track around it base elements, a thick drumfunk that swings unsteadily back and forth before dropping to the floor. It’s a surprisingly unique take on bass-heavy floor music, and bodes well for his upcoming Gil Scott Heron remix album.
Sonic Router contributor Rory Gibb has taken the reigns over at the respected music portal, Drowned In Sound, this week, putting together a series of articles on a decade of dubstep. Already featuring an interview with FaltyDL, and opinion pieces documenting the rise of Skull Disco and the scene in general he's put together a mix chronicalling the genesis of our main squeeze.
As insanely prolific as Drew Lustman is, it’s still been possible to trace a definite forward shift in his music, between the glassy urban surfaces of last year’s excellent Love Is A Liability long-player and Bravery’s cooler, more reflective ambience (and again between this year’s housey All In The Place EP and this new release for Planet Mu). Phreqaflex is the first of two new 12” releases for the label, showcasing the two-step side of his musical persona before the slower moves of Endeavour. And it’s both instantly recognisable as FaltyDL – it’s nigh on impossible to mistake a Lustman production for anything else, what with his fragmented grasp of melody and the distinctive swish of his hi-hats – and a definite progression, experimenting with downcast moods and a strikingly coherent sense of pace. All three tracks are short, pensive and exist in a peculiar vacuum, as though viewed inside the modern equivalent of a snowglobe.
The title track has been appearing in sets here and there over the last few months, and it’s the closest Falty’s productions have come to the sort of dark swing pioneered by the likes of El-B and Horsepower Productions. Still, where those early tracks were marked by an almost total absence of light, ‘Phreqaflex’ is set in a car speeding through the cosmopolitan night, lit up with streaks of halogen light and the odd fragment of music spilling from the doors of local bars. ‘Because You’ is set in the same twilit landscape but is beset by a deep, unnerved sense of melancholy, as though reeling from the aftermath of an sudden and unexpected break-up. That narrative is made more explicit in final track ‘My Friends Will Always Say’, led by a supremely lonely vocal and jazzy, In A Silent Way-esque key work, bringing an end to a tantalisingly brief experience. Here’s hoping for album number two soon; there are very few producers out there operating with Lustman’s sheer consistency.
For a label that could so easily have been left lumped in with the stigmatised IDM set, Planet Mu’s not half managed to pull itself well away from any easy pigeon holing. The last few years – since they aligned themselves to the nascent dubstep scene, really, athough it’s been most apparent since that sound has branched off in all directions – have seen an explosion in diversity quite separate from almost any other imprint out there. In that sweeping statement I also include Hyperdub, which along with Mu has probably done more than almost any label in recent memory to break out of its comfort zone and head off on exciting detours. But while Kode9’s baby has remained beholden to variants on a localized theme (no bad thing, mind), Planet Mu seems to have disregarded them completely. This year alone, alongside snippets from the usual bass set – Ikonika, Jamie Vex’d/Kuedo, Swindle, Terror Danjah – has seen them snap up albums from both footwork maestro DJ Nate and unknown chillwavers Solar Bears. Hardly sticking to a rigid formula then.
London based Barcelona man Oriol Singhji definitely fits into the latter category. His Night & Day album is a set of sunkissed, superheated instrumentals that effortlessly align with the kind of retrofuturistic funk peddled by Floating Points and Onra. But his sound carries a definite emphasis on the ‘retro’, making easy reference to jazz-funk, Weather Report and Miami Vice, amongst other rose-tinted memories. That a certain seventies charm thoroughly permeates all the remixes on the Coconut Coast EP is, I suppose, testament to how convincing Oriol’s vision is. The title track is wildly addictive, kicking off with a gust of warm synth before heading off on a defiantly downtempo flex, riding ‘round South London with the top rolled down. FaltyDL’s house remix is slow and foreboding, pivoting around a lovely broken beat, and Jake Slazenger’s take on ‘Memories’ is hot and sumptuous, as befitting the source material. Shortstuff’s ‘Memories’ remix is the best of the three though, and it’s brilliantly deceitful, opening with the sort of jittery moves that you’d expect of a Blunted Robot but remaining unexpectedly contemplative throughout.
File in the ‘cider in a field on a hot summer’s day’ section.
The production duo of Kai Campos and Dom Maker have carved out something very special, with their two 12” releases to date under the Mount Kimbie alias. Releasing on Scuba’s Hotflush imprint – a label somewhat affiliated with dubstep and all its mutating forms - they've carved a highly successful niche without coating everything in an overtly shimmering gloss, sometimes leaving their track's snare drums space to snapple, letting them sometimes seethe offbeat momentarily.
Hotflush are set to release a duo of remix EPs from Kimbie shortly and ahead of their physical release the FaltyDL remix of 'Serged' is being made public (for the price of an email address). Here's what SR wrote about the EPs in last month's URB.com column:
"Comprising of refixes from the 2 Kimbie EPs to date there are versions of 'At Least,' 'Maybes' and 'Serged' by half time d&b dons Instra:mental, James Blake and FaltyDL respectively on the first 12” and interpretations of “Vertical” and “William” by SCB – Scuba’s militant house and techno guise – and Tama Sumo & Prosumer on the 2nd plate. Other than the obvious – my position deep in the colon of James Blake is patently well documented if you’re adept enough to use google at even a novice level – it’s the versions by Instra:mental and Tama Sumo & Prosumer, especially the latter, that really make each EP worth punting for."
Surefire Sound’s debut release features two fine beat makers in Eprom and FaltyDL. Both bring a skippy garage-esq variant to the table with San Fransisco resident Eprom – here deviating from his more prominent boom bap sound found on his forthcoming Rwina release - brings the source material and New York’s FaltyDL showed us his slant. The two seem to share a love for deeply hypnotic bumping garage, full of twisted, clattering drums and funky basslines that seem to echo with a spectral atmosphere.
Falty gets darker and more spaced out with his take, chopping the drums up into fragmented breaks and making the samples float even more ghostly. The bassline gets dubby and smeared into a pulsing buzz while all the other elements shuffle in all directions. The breakdown melts into sub territory before the breaks and a subtle synth melody takes hold again.
Unless you've been locked in a toilet for the last 6 months - fending off starvation through the consumption of toilet duck tablets and Imperial Leather - you'll have no doubt heard of Ramp Recordings; and the constantly mesmerizing roster of artists - including trailblazers like Shortstuff, Slugabed, Desto, Tokimonsta and Zomby amongst numerous others - that releases music on the imprint.
Kmag have just upped a guest mix from label lynchpin Tom, which features a whole heap of exciting ass material that's forthcoming on the label.
Drew Lustman’s ‘Love Is A Liability’ long-player stands unchallenged as one of the finest electronic releases of this year thus far, regardless of genre. His beats as FaltyDL tread a strangely instinctive line between pleasingly complex and downright awkward, yet somehow manage to avoid falling into the trap of losing their intrinsic sense of groove and danceability; hence the dizzying spirals and sudden twists of his debut album’s highlights, ‘To New York’ and ‘The Shape To Come,’ hold a melodic and rhythmic intricacy that sets them in as good stead for late-night headphone listens as for a packed floor. In fact, in the four months since its release ‘Love Is A Liability’ has more or less usurped Burial’s first record as my post-club journey home soundtrack.
Never one to rest on his laurels, during the next month or so the man’s got a new 12” to come on Ramp, ‘Party,’ as well as ‘Bravery,’ his follow-up proper on Planet Mu. Immediately striking is the divergent movement of the two releases – in ‘Party’ he’s further channeled the restless UK garage spirit of his earlier material into a melancholy dancefloor mover, but the other material is different somehow. The ‘Bravery’ EP is a far less immediate listen than its predecessor, stripped of its devotion to a straightforward skip and seemingly more interested in exploring the outer reaches of its parent genre. Opener ‘You Made Me Feel So Right’ is a case in point – the mournful vocal sample of the title rides over an entirely reversed two-step beat. It’s an uncomfortable and introspective listen, its down pitched voices and nocturnal ambience a million miles from a tune like ‘Human Meadow.’
Still, it feels as though detaching his music from the pressures of the floor has allowed Lustman the stylistic and melodic freedom to travel far beyond the self-set limits of ‘Love Is A Liability’ in search of deeper treasures. The expedition has unearthed some real gems - the title track in particular is heart stopping, an opening drunken swagger parting to allow room for a gorgeous sliced vocal breakdown, before a 4/4 kick suddenly sweeps it into space for a few blissful seconds. ‘Tronman’ sets a foreboding drone against escalating percussive aggression, and much of the record shares as much common ground with LA glitch-hop as with its more overt garage and dubstep influences. That said, it’s impossible to miss a warped cameo from Mary Anne Hobbs on ‘Mother Beam,’ no matter how much he messes with her distinctive voice.
In their latest issue, Wire’s main criticism of ‘Bravery’ was its supposed ‘bloodlessness’. I’m not entirely sure how they came to that conclusion. It’s not an easy listen, nor is it slavishly devoted to a single sound, but to call FaltyDL’s music bloodless is to deny the human heart that obviously beats at its core. Only a living being could have made music this brilliantly weird.
Dylan Richards is doing his best to live up to his mindfuck moniker of King Cannibal, after stirring up dancefloors with his pristine smattering of hoover bass and dancehall drum patterns on tracks like 'Arigami Style' and 'Virgo' and naming his forthcoming album project, 'Let The Night Roar,' after a quote from Jim Jones, the main protagonist of the Jonestown Massacre mass suicide (the greatest singular loss of American civilian life pre 9/11).
Ahead of his album's release later this month and his appearance at fabric next Friday, he's passed us this, a dub refix of his Aviv Geffen remix, an ample showcase of what we like to call his more "thoughtful" production style...
It is Drew Lustman's time to blow. With his 'Bravery' mini LP coming on Planet Mu shortly, so quickly after his debut LP, 'Love Is A Liability,'FaltyDL made big ripples in our little pond.
New clip from the one FaltyDL, which is in fact taken from a forthcoming project on Ramp Recordings, rather than from his imminent follow up to his 'Love Is A Liability' album, the excellent EP, 'Bravery' on Planet Mu.
General tip off of the decade... Hotflush Records have started a podcast with Alex Incyde at the helm for the first edition.
Gumpf time:
"Hotflush Recordings is proud to announce the launch of the official Hotflush podcast. We are kicking it off this month with the first podcast mixed by Incyde (Dub War NYC / Sub.FM), featuring fresh material from Mount Kimbie, Clouds, Incyde, FaltyDL, DJG, 2562, Pearson Sound, Compound One, Badawi, Shortstuff, Jus Wan, and more".
Andrew Lustman’s debut album under the FaltyDL moniker arrived in my possession with little fanfare. In fact I think it was around the same time as the latest Boxcutter album got sent out that I received it, so, in some foolish self deprecation type manoeuvre, I put it on the back burner, choosing to dive straight into the alt-skwee of Barry Lynn. But ‘Love Is A Liability’ is such a stringent work that revels in its simplicity and Lustman’s 2-step infused productions are so insistent and fiercely computerised that it’s hard to besmirch him any sort of positive praise.
Mr Lustman has got incessantly catch garage fuelled beats, which he fully proved with his ‘To London’ track which was released on the excellent Ramp Recordings, and it’s a billion times our pleasure to present you with the 15th exclusive Sonic Router mix and shed some light on the joy that is FaltyDL’s music.
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
FaltyDL: Shalom. I’ve been livin’ in NYC for some time now making beats, teaching kids and trying to be a good human being. Though its very difficult to do that here in New York. Yesterday I got in an argument with a stranger about something. I can’t remember what, but it was just dirty business.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
I just try and improve everything. My organization, my desktop. I’ve started taking care of issues as they take form; almost foreseeing difficulties in the smoothness of it all. I’ll wake up and have five things on my mind that I need to take care of before lunch. I usually get about 2 done. I walk around a lot eating amazing food and smoking way too many cigarettes. That’s about as good as a day gets.
How did the name come about, do you have a lot of problems with downloading?
I think I wanted FaultyDL but couldn’t spell… so it was FaltyDL when I was about 12 years old. It just stuck.
I heard you were a sushi, chef before you starting hitting the buttons, what’s your signature dish and are you handy with a knife?
Yeah man I used to make this roll called the ‘Ebi Babba,’ Chef Bun Lai came up with this:
1. Skin a potato thinly, leaving a intact 15 inch or thereabouts curling peel. 2. Tempura fry a single large shrimp and let the potato peel soften in the smoking hot oil at the same time. 3. Remove both from oil, set aside 4. Slice 5 or 6 thin pieces of Havarti Cheese 5. Wrap cooled potato skin around shrimp with cupi mayonnaise (Japanese mayo, much more tasty) 6. Slice potato 6 or 8 times for sushi style pieces 7. Place Havarti on top of sushi with an extra drizzle of cupi, dill and chives. 8. Torch for 10 seconds till cheese melts.
That’s the recipe, I didn’t invent it, but I ate it about 10 times a week… Get into it.
How did you get into making music?
I was tired of playing bass in a jazz band…it was all very ‘jazz band’ and I needed a little more control. Now I have almost too much control. Theres no regiment anymore. Its nice.
What’s your production set up like? When did you start producing and what was your set up like then compared to now?
Its been the same since I started pretty much. The center piece being a 6 year old Mac G5 pillared by two massive JBL 4328ps. That’s it really. I mean two Technic 1200’s and a microKontrol help also… But theres lots of vinyl… lots of vinyl…
Coming from New York, which has its own rich garage history - all be it a very different sound to the UK 2-step garage - how did you become infatuated with the UK sound?
Infatuated? Not sure if that’s the right word. Obsessed with? Maybe that’s better. Simply, my true love besides my girl friend… is Jungle. Jungle. Jungle. There’s shuffle in Jungle too. I don’t think a lot of kids know that. Maybe they do. But that’s the dark beauty I think about. Remarc is a bigger influence then the Artful Dodger though… haha! Although ‘Rewind’ is a good tune. Actually check Butler Kiev’s remix on Planet-Mu. Amazing… Speak and Spell action.
Is there a strong scene for 2-step out in the US?
I have no idea. I don’t think so, but maybe...?
“I am so isolated in my tower of undecipherable speech” - Being John Malkovich.
I’m not that good a writer. I tell you what tho, I’m incredibly grateful for a night like Dub War. DQ Joe Nice and Incyde put on an amazingly diverse night. It may be centered in Dubstep, but everyone has played there. I played after Ras G for Christ’s sake two months ago, followed by DJG and Clouds! So yeah, you’ll hear garage at Dub War.
Who from back in the day and from modern music inspires you? You got any records in the collection that might surprise a few people?
I just got Garcia’s ‘It’s A London Thing’ 10”. That’s getting a lot of play at the moment… plus my Luke Vibert collection has no holes in it.
Surprising? Let me go see… Oh, here I have ‘Henry Mancini’ complete with an amazing hairpiece on the cover of the LP.
Your album ‘Love Is A Liability’ is out on Planet Mu. Can you walk us through the concept behind it? How long did it take to put together? Do you believe the title to be true? If so why?
I believed it before I met someone that proved me wrong… But well, actually, yes, yes it is a liability, but one that makes life all the richer. I wrote some of the album shortly before I turned 25, and finished it shortly before I turned 26. Was a hell of a year. A crazy year. Working with Mu has been excellent, Mike P had an image in his head of the album that was at points gruelling for me to figure out how we could meet somewhere. But there is definitely a mutual respect which is awesome.
Although to be honest I’ve been respecting him a lot longer… but I’m very grateful to have had his ear during the process. Truth is, its gotten easier, the second release is already sorted before the album hits shelves.
You’ve got some 12”s out already on Ramp and a remix package on Planet Mu featuring mixes from Luke Vibert and Boxcutter, how did those all come about?
RAMP hit me up and wanted some tunes. I’ve formed a real friendship with Tom over at RAMP. Had a few beers with him in London last month actually. He’s also got a vision in his head. ‘To London’ is a funny tune. To me its so simple. Look at it. Drums, bass, vocals and synth. That’s it. No tricks. People dig it and that’s dope. I heard it at a club and said, “Oh Shit I know this one!”
The remix EP speaks for itself. That’s just a dream remix EP for me there. Mike and Luke have been on my stereo since I was a kid, and Barry helped hook me up with Mu in the first place. Its beautiful.
FaltyDL - Love Is A Liability (Album Preview)
Have you got any other projects dropping after the album?
Yes, there will be more 12”s and maybe something bigger on RAMP soon. Also there is an EP/mini album on Mu later this year. I’m actually more excited about those than anything I’ve done so far.
Are there any plans for UK dates in the coming months?
Yes. I’ll be touring Europe in August. Just setting it all up now; it looks like it’s going to be a real adventure. All over the place hopefully, we’ll see.
Can you tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us? Does it reflect a typical FaltyDL DJ set? Any exclusives etc etc.
Yeah theres exclusives in there. I’m all over the place with my tastes, I hope to at least cover about a 70 BPM range here. My sets depend on what time in the night I’m on tho. I really want to play at like 7 am. Just play Pink Floyd or something… I dunno.
Have you got any wisdom that you’d like to impose on the interweb?
Treat each other kindly. I’m working on that right now. Not a gem, but a good rule to live by.
FaltyDL's 'Love Is A Liability' album, due soon on Planet Mu, is incredible. It truly is one of those sheer loose yourself in the reams of energy long players and to celebrate those loveable rogues at RCRDLBL have nabbed an mpFREE from him.
