Slugabed - Ultra Heat Treated EP [2010, vinyl, planet mu]

february 2010

lbl: Planet Mu

#: ZIQ263

electronic

dubstep, wonky

320kbps

topaz [8.0]

01. Ultra Heat Treated
02. Skyfire
03. Pressure
04. Quantum Leap
05. Goulash
06. Titans

producer: Greg Feldwick

note: "From the start of the record, comparisons to Degenerate-era Vex’d and Starkey’s street bass sound spring immediately to mind. The ferocious subs and keening synths of ‘Ultra Heat Treated’ sound barely tethered to a riddim that not so much lurches as hobbles. ‘Skyfire’ pings and whooshes like a mal-functioning arcade, the chopped squarewaves churning like the demented breakdown of Squarepusher’s ‘My Red Hot Car’. The influence of Tom Jenkinson is also audible in the howling synths of ‘Pressure’, which recalls the melancholy motif of 2002’s Do You Know Squarepusher? set against a pistolwhip half-step skank.

The EP continues with the heaving post-Rustie chiptune of ‘Quantum Leap’ and the queasy, K-hole discombobulation of ‘Goulash’, before ‘Titan’ delivers you back towards a vaguely compos mentis, if garishly hypercoloured reality.

Slugabed is a supremely gifted producer. His stop-start synths and crunching, off-kilter beats result in productions that deftly combine melodic sensitivity with satisfying rhythmic complexity. It’s probably safe to expect some big things from Slugabed in the near future, but for now, could someone please pass the Valium?" - Colin McKean, read full review.

casio stronghold

[fixed / 10 march 2010]

buy it here. [£7.99]