Give Addison Groove (AKA Dubstep producer Headhunter) credit, “Footcrab” is far less annoying than the funny video snippet above would lead you to believe. Built around a vocal sample exhorting the titular crustacean, the track is a dark, jazzy flip on Chicago juke as seen through the lens of the Digital Mystikz affiliated Swamp81 label. Pitting mindless fun against programmed subtlety in a duel to the death, Footcrab results in barely restrained insanity: crunk for the eyes-down crowd adamant on maintaining Dubstep’s darkness first and foremost but interested in Funky’s post-halfstep elan and momentum. The overall effect is that of walking into a smoky room where everyone is gone off the laughing gas: dusty, hillarious and more than a little disturbing. (Vinyl only)
Though occasionally a tad cold & mechanical, I’m riding for Scuba’s Triangulation. Sure, the Berlin-influenced austerity may seem reserved compared to loosely programmed Californian Dilla-funk but the frost never feels forced and the resulting collection bores itself into your brain when you aren’t looking. My favorite moment is undoubtedly “Before”: a 2010 update of the Trip-Hop torch songs favored by early Portishead, Massive Attack and UNKLE. Equally warm and chilly with bombed out drums and half-whispered vocals, the song (not track) lives and dies off mood alone, inspiring thoughts of shadows, spies, love and betrayal. You’ll have to imagine your own scenario however, as director Sam Geer chose to go a more abstract route for the official video, resulting in non-narrative blasts of colors and shapes as druggy as the music itself.
I’ll be checking out Bok Bok live tomorrow to see what’s really good with this new Londoner funk and this is one of his tunes that’s really helped sell me on the concept of *ahem* Funky House. Riding a woozy synth pattern and tropical drums, Citizen’s Dub is an audio document of that moment in the party where EVERYBODY has had too much to drink. The emcee is chatting shit about the floors swirling, that hot chick you were hitting on is puking in the corner and everyone is falling flat on their asses trying to dance. Hopefully the scene tomorrow is nothing quite as apocalyptic as what I’ve just described, but then again…it might be fun.
Download:
MP3: Addison Groove – Footcrab (LQ rip)
MP3: Scuba – Before
