Sach O played a lot of videogames as a kid.
Posting from yours truly may be on the anemic side this month as term papers are a motherfucker. If you’re truly in need of my rantings I suggest you follow me on Twitter where the 140 character limit and fractional audience currently best suit my need to speak my mind in quick bursts before going back researching the Ontology of cybernetics (seriously). I also use it message Rinse a lot and Elijah & Skilliam listeners may occasionally notice my name in the shoutouts these days since I’ve become a dedicated listener of their pirate showcases. Hard to knock their hustle: they’ve been going bi-weekly (and bi-winning) on Rinse for a minute now with an extra Sunday spot in addition to their regular Thursday gig, making for four weekly hours of futuristic, neon colored beats. It’s not UK Funky but it’s certainly funky music from the UK. Additionally, their Butterz label continues to shepherd some of the best producers out there – last month we profiled Royal-T and this month we’ll take a look at Swindle, whose new single Mood Swings continues the label’s move to expand the definition of Grime into new frontiers.
Starting with warm chords and light drums, “Mood Swings” does its title justice by suddenly dropping into a dark, stomping bass motif with about 4 different B-lines duking it out for supremacy and ultra heavy snares anchoring the demonic composition down. “Trending Topic” on the other hand is an uptempo workout that sounds like Dam Funk on some very good trucker speed: the crashing snares doubling up and the morphing basslines meeting somewhere between Joker’s synth-lead Dubstep, 80s boogie and a 16 bit console’s sound-chip. Crucially, both compositions breathe with an organic side often absent from UK Bass while simultaneously keeping it rugged and raw enough for the dance. With so many Dubstep producers heading ether towards absurd heavy metal territory or snoozy house grooves, it’s nice to see the Grime scene step up with bass-lead music that’s got groove and funk without tempered restraint while maintaining an aggressive edge that isn’t alienating to those among us who aren’t hopped up on cheap beer and Sparx. I’ve been dropping this stuff at Dubstep dances around here and people absolutely loose their shit – the highest recommendation I can offer for any (re)-emerging subgenre. The single’s out today for about 2 bucks at your local online retailer of choice – make like me and cop it.
Alternately or additionally, the broke and less-DJ-oriented among you may enjoy last month’s FACT mix which blends the man’s own tunes with material by Terror Danjah, TRC and Roger from Zapp. It’s the last name that’s most telling, connecting Swindle to an extended funk legacy that has the potential to interest a larger audience than those usually attuned to Grime. Also included is Butterz’s free April Zip file of original material and remixes because who doesn’t like good free music?
Download:
Buy: Swindle – Mood Swings/Trending Topic @ Boomkat
MP3: Butterz – April Zip
FACT mix 221 – Swindle (Feb ’11) by factmag
