14 May 2009

Boomkat: 14 tracks in Hypercolour: a synthfunk sampler



After 14 tracks in search of wonky, boomkat enters again a very promising yet not fully defined ‘wonky’ (or purple wow, yaackkk!!!) territory. The ESSENTIAL set of tracks for any fan of new dope beats / bass heavy electronica. Just 6.86 GBP for tracks worth 14 GBP in monetary terms at least, but the creative and inspirational value of this selection is priceless.

Boomkat says: Wonky's uglier, ruder cousin, the new wave of hyper-coloured synthfunk is fast becoming the definitive sound of 2009. Situating itself somewhere between Grime, classic Dre productions and arcade machine / 8-bit eruptions, the 'Purple Wow' styles of Joker, aided and abetted by the likes of Gemmy, Guido and Jakes has spearheaded a new movement in bass music that references West Coast G-Funk classics like Dre's "Deep Cover" or Above the Law's "Livin' Like Hustlers" while utilising a distinctly Uk/Urban palette. There's considerable crossover with Dubstep too, but this is a scene dominated by a multicoloured vibrancy far removed from monochrome wobble and halfstep templates played in dark rooms, instead injecting a sense of urgency, sleazy excitement and danger back into the dance.

Apart from some obvious ‘anthems’ like: Joker’s - Do it, Zomby’s - Aquafresh, Rustie tracks, the 14tracks also offer among others such fantastic synth wonkiness:
F…g great Saturn’s Reply by Jamie Vex’d who once again shows his creative skills (also check his fantastic mixtape for LuckyMe).
ESKMO – Hypercooler. SF style 8bit funk – this year we’ll see (or already has seen) lots of fantastic music gems.
Dorian Concept – The fucking formula. Future abstract electronica from Vienna. TIP!
Various Productions - Bside it’s good to see the duo back in top form after a disappointing The Invisible Lodger (my personal views).
A track from Neil Landstrumm’s revolutionary second longplay Lord for £39 for Planet Mu – Little help from Rustie – deconstructed wonky, downtempo, heaven!!
Kotchy remixed by Seclusias’ Dev79 – crunky electro step.
Gemmy – Supligen. Another heavy-weight player from Bristol in purple work / crunk dubstep department. Outer Space Experience par excellence! The sound of the future is already here.
Debruit – Look 22. Actually this name came to my radar for the first time on 14 tracks in search of wonky by boomkat. I see that was no coincidence. After another release you should definitely check this artist if you are into laidback wonky dope beats like e.g. Hudson Mohawke, Flying Lotus, Daedelus etc.

BTW – I don’t know about you, but the term wonky was / is not very fortunate to describe the music produced by Joker / Rustie / Lucky Me / etc. But Purple Wow ??!?!? – wtf? – please gimme a break. This IS ridiculous name! (and yes, I know the background).