Falty DL
(Planet Mu)
Even with all the baffling subgenre names available to tack onto his records, Drew Lustman's distinctive work as Falty DL isn't easily boxed into one-sentence blurbs. Jungle, hip hop, house, and ambient dubstep play a role in his warm, off-kilter dance music, and he closed-up 2009 with no fewer than four rhythmically and texturally complicated releases under his belt, each one wordless outside of vocals he'd borrowed from other vinyl and manipulated with effects.
A four-songer on the Dutch Rush Hour Recordings label in early 2010 put Lustman's affinity for subdued though typically unsteady house on display, while the Phreqaflex EP marks a more charged outing, where the NYC producer serves up the hardest 2-step drum patterns he's offered yet. Jumpy stop/starts and nicked Rhodes spring randomly into place for the title track, while "Because You" cracks and sputters with the same energy that Lustman's recent remix does for UK dubstep purveyor Ital Tek's "Moment In Blue." Fashioned with a sample of Lauryn Hill dealing doo wop, Phreqaflaex closer "My Friends Will Always Say..." is both lush and explosive. The husky vocal and long, deep breaths flow nicely over the meatiest bassline in the pack, with Lustman employing a melody somewhat similar to the one charted on his "To New York," from 2009's Love Is A Liability. While this release's first seven minutes are strong enough, "My Friends..." really cooks; it's a serving of gorgeous and seductive garage that builds on the breakout records the artist issued last year.
DOWNLOAD: Grab all three tracks. DOMINIC UMILE
