((URY)) Dance #2

Pembroke / Lock In The Lion – Airhead & James Blake (BRAiNMATH, 2010)

James Blake aims to show a different side of his musical personality with this, his third release and first on BRAiNMATH. Coming after the massively acclaimed ‘Air & Lack Thereof’ and his remix of Untold’s ‘Stop What You’re Doing’, Pembroke goes a long way to show why Blake is so hotly tipped. Airhead’s influence on the two tracks featured on the release is, aptly, to add a lot more space to the already laid-back and off-kilter beats found on Blake’s previous work. Both tracks come off more as sonic explorations, pushing the ability of a track to carry melody to its limit. It’s hard to say if this could even be defined as dance music, the two tracks being constantly surprising in direction throughout their length. A fascinating release by a fascinating artist.




Skull Crusher / Clunge – Numan / SDUK (Slit Jockey, 2010)

The third 12” on Starkey’s label, Slit Jockey, features two exciting newcomers to the dance scene, Manchester’s Numan and London boy SDUK. This release is made for dancing – both tracks feature heavy beats and bass designed to get you moving. Numan’s ‘Skull Crusher’ is up first, coming in with metallic synth washes and distant speech samples before dropping into a main beat that Starkey himself would be proud of. On the flip, SDUK’s hilariously-titled ‘Clunge’ lulls you into a false sense of security with soft vocal stabs before not one, but two massive synth riffs crash into the track, eventually leading into a huge main beat that I’ve seen inspire some truly ridiculous jump-around dance moves many times. This is a solid step in the right direction from both of these young artists, and I, for one, hope to hear more from them soon.




By Jack Luckett

((URY)) Dance #1

D1 – Jus Business / Pitcher (Dub Police)

D1 (otherwise known as Dwayne Marsh) has been releasing music since July 2005. He has not, however, brought out tracks regularly during this time. The excellent Jus Business / Pitcher stands testament to this by being his first 12” since the 2008 EP, V3. Both tracks are of equal quality, with D1 showing his mastery of an impressive range of production styles throughout. 'Jus Business', which takes its title as well as many samples from lines spoken by the character Stringer Bell in TV’s The Wire, is particularly noteworthy in this respect; mixing a Grime-style beat and Dubstep percussion, and introducing House piano lines and beats later. 'Pitcher' is a different animal altogether. Having started off sounding like a classic UK Funky track, it builds tension with synth washes before bringing out an Untold-esque pitch-bending hook. A highly recommended release.




DVA – Natty / Ganja (Hyperdub)

DVA (otherwise known as Scratcha) marks his first release on Kode 9’s highly respected Hyperdub label with the somewhat inconsistent Natty / Ganja 12”. 'Ganja' is the stronger track of the two, combining vocal samples, a pitch-bending hook, together with a strong House bassline and keyboard stabs – all to great effect. It comes across as both laid-back and dance-ready, and the Tropical beat points to the wide geographical spread of DVA’s influences. 'Natty' is weak by comparison, its complex structure never really developing into anything compelling. It almost feels incomplete – as though in need of a hook or a piece of melody to give it some warmth. There is, however, more than ample evidence on the basis of this release that DVA is a promising talent worth following in the future.




Kingdom – Mind Reader (Fool’s Gold)

Fool’s Gold presents Mind Reader from Kingdom, a release that doesn’t pull any punches. Although we’re basically presented with a couple of ‘old’ tunes from Kingdom’s extensive archive, there’s no denying that the material on show is all killer and no filler. Big, brash and unsubtle – and with remixes from L-Vis 1990, Bok Bok and Todd Edwards – there’s much to admire, regardless of where on the sliding scale of UK Funky, Garage and House you stand. Of the remixes, the L-Vis 1990 edit is the most powerful; full of rhythmic energy and sub bass pressure, this one is pure dancefloor fire. Todd Edwards provides a classically-styled House excursion but if R’n’B vocals don’t float your boat, there’s a dub version thrown in to boot. Also well worth checking out is the b-side, 'You'. Being more House than Garage or Funky, 'You' shows off some of the versatility of the Night Slugs new boy. Definitely one to watch out for.




Jack Luckett & Simon Burrell (Idioteque, Pipedown)