Beats Working: New Blurt Blog Debuts

New BLURT Column spotlighting "dusty instrumental hip-hop, techno and bass artists" kicks off.

By Dominic Umile

When I pitched a column idea to my patient editor at BLURT, it was with the intention of carving out a place for its readers to find an intimate discussion of electronic music, or records that are largely beats-driven, be it dusty instrumental hip hop, techno, or the subject of this first entry, happenings in various bass artist circles. My initial idea was in part informed by a reaction to the instantaneous one-offs and press release re-posts that are occurring these days with unhealthy frequency. I hope to offer what I consider a deep and more personal analysis of new (and maybe older) releases in lieu of the immediate, short-form album appraisals and so-called "criticism" of "leaked" MP3's that materialize within 15 minutes of their mass distribution. I'm calling this endeavor Beats Working because there will be a lot of talk of beats, and because consuming and thinking about music - whether it's on long subway commutes or sifting through records in my apartment - well, it beats working. I've spent a good deal of time lately thinking about the bass-oriented records that have come my way.

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The turbulent third LP from Dave "2562" Huismans (pictured, above) rattles so much, it's unlikely that you'd ever detect one of the disco samples that allegedly stirs and stutters at its foundation. The Netherlands-born, Berlin-based producer has been exploring a haunting dubstep-minimal techno sound for years, and even though his source material was limited to loops from classic disco vinyl for Fever (no additional synths or drum programming), the new tracks are far closer to hard, cold techno than the releases in his recent catalog.

2562 - Aquatic Family Affair (doubt000 A) by 2562 / A Made Up Sound

The beats are deep and pugnacious for Fever, and the base of pre-album single "Aquatic Family Affair" as well as the title track treads closely to the rhythmic patterns on Dave Huismans' 2009 LP Unbalance, where percussive thrusts of kick drums and hi-hats drive an affable mix of dubby textures and hazy techno. Fever is fascinating and difficult to digest - at times it's similar to Claro Intelecto's dim Warehouse Sessions, devoid of the melody that so frequently underpins the last 2562 outing. "Juxtaposed" is rich with fluttering sci-fi sonics and long-echoing snare rolls, while Fever's mere chunks of bass and metallic clinks are weaved into track-length machine rumbles on "Flavour Park Jam" and on the blurting "Cheater." Huismans trims dizzying textures down to half-second bits and layers them on top of hard and jumbled beats for most of the record, while tangible instances of tightly packed 4/4 dance music occasionally bubble to the fore - micro-diced synth bits and backward swirls on "Brasil Deadwalker" and "Final Frenzy" are built for a thrilling club set, but certainly nothing here sounds like disco. Instead, Huismans expands his palette with a perpetually cryptic record that's really difficult to explain to your friends. I'll take that over disco any day of the week.

Drew "FaltyDL" Lustman doesn't stray noticeably far from the temperate analog sounds that we generally associate with disco records on his second proper full-length for Planet Mu. As much play as the more prominent UK garage and house-inspired dubstep offshoots are getting these days, New Yorker Lustman has remained ahead of the pack, loading his work with consistently provocative shifts in color and rhythm. On You Stand Uncertain, Lustman exhibits a refreshing and ever-steady intention to sweeten lush, late-night house-driven dance music with strong melodies and loads of atmospherics.

To London by FaltyDL

Often as shadowy and hypnotic as the jumbled headphone opus he dubbed Bravery in 2009, You Stand Uncertain is also bright and dramatic, lined with risky moves that make for the most complete-sounding statement Lustman has issued to date. The doses of breathy, unfinished garage diva samples and spirited hi-hat exercises that run through "Voyager" and "It's All Good" look back at his well-received debut album, as well as at his flashy Endeavor EP in 2010. Vocalist Anneka (you heard her on Starkey's "Stars") figures into the You Stand... opener's captivating swirl of vintage organ keys and jangly percussion - the collaboration, along with two others here, marks a new direction for Lustman, as he's previously relied on vocal samples to establish the intimate feel of his records, rather than invite another musician into the studio. Live, untreated vocals instead of the usual pitch-mangled snippets on "Gospel of Opal" are welcome, particularly in the spots where sparse harmonies fall into place just ahead of the audible acoustic guitar loops. The harder stuff is here too, in innumerable junglist drum sources that tumble through "Lucky Luciano," reminiscent of the streamlined, breakbeat-backed Phreqaflex and the absolutely nasty "Never" remix that Lustman did for West Coast beatmaker Eprom last year. [LISTEN TO MIX: FaltyDL for Dummy Mag]

Considerably less light slips into the straight 17 and a half minutes of whooshing, rubbery techno that newer UK bass producer Jamie "Blawan" Roberts laid down for his danceable Bohla EP, released on R&S. Drums play the biggest role on this percussively robust three-songer. Roberts' musical roots are said to have sprouted behind a drum kit, and it shows, perhaps in the barrage of rimshots on "Kaz" or in the deep tribal thwacks of the title track. While Roberts deals an innovative hybrid of alien bass music and tribal house on Bohla, the Round Black Ghosts compilation on Berlin's ~scape comes to mind after his "Lavender" takes off - the 2008 collection features a set of dub and techno crossovers from artists like Untold and 2562, whose ideas back then can be compared to the plans Roberts has now.

BR #47 Blawan by BOILER ROOM

I'm more likely to return to R&S releases from James Blake and Pariah ahead of Bohla, because they're overall more aesthetically diverse, with the emphasis on UK garage sounds that I find so appealing these days, as well as on abundant melodies. Hailing from a town in Worcestershire, England, a trio called Swarms invests a lot of energy into building melody. They're producing a psychedelic but quite polished blend of bass music and chirpy midtempo techno, with heavily coded guitar lines and frequent vocal samples worked into the mix.

Flikr of ur eyes by Swarms

Old Raves End, Swarms' debut full-length for LoDubs, sits snugly alongside the label's releases from dubstep well-known Clubroot, whose sophomore LP is loaded with similarly refined choral textures, field noise, and somber, ambient 2-step tunes. Clubroot's best work is in his understated tracks, and Swarms is also strongest when they're reining it in. "Roulette" boasts broad, sweeping synth chords that move along at a syrupy pace, clashing with the sped-up, indecipherable vocal churning the background. The same batch of elements work in a slow, massive-feeling cycle for "Sky Below Sea," which is equally stirring, but the text msg-friendly "Flikr of Ur Eyes" is the most comely of the lot. Tenderly strummed guitars match measured synth swells and whispered vocal cut-ups a la Lali Puna's "Faking the Books" on "Flikr..." The beats that eventually shuffle in barely disrupt this organic stretch, and close listens summon actual fretboard slides as well as the affecting soft patter of English countryside rain. [LISTEN TO MIX: Swarms And Geiom]

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BLURT contributor and blogger Dominic Umile lives, writes, and drinks in Brooklyn, NY. Follow him on Twitter: @DominicUmile