Hi Tek Sounds レコード& CD

Review: Basic Rhythm alter ego East Man returns to his Hi Tek imprint with his second anti gum-flapping manifesto. Rough, sludgy, oppressive; "Jaws" is a stripped back to the bulbous bare essentials. Just a warm 808 bass/kick and snare hits, weaving and bobbing with heavy hypnosis. Flip for "Border Clash" where strange bee's nest textures buzz between the bass hits and shattered percussive hits. Paranoid, confusing, heavy. Dark times inspire dark tunes.

Review: Basic Rhythm man Anthoney J Hart has previously released a handful of fine albums and singles as East Man, most notably a couple of killer LPs on Planet Mu. In recent times he's decided to go it alone, pressing up 12" singles on the Hi Tek Sounds label he launched last year. This time round he's in full-on collaboration mode, with Hyperdub and Tectonic regular Walton joining him to lay down a pair of military strength club cuts. A-side "Horse Mouth" is a throbbing chunk of bass science, with the pair wrapping mind-altering analogue bass, creepy chords and occasional dub-wise vocal samples around a hard-wired staccato rhythm. This twisted take on dubstep is explored further on flipside "Gunshot", whose scattergun machine drums come bathed in oven-warm chords.

Review: The dream team of East Man and Walton are back together for another collaborative single on Hi Tek. Things kick off with the tough as teak 'Screw Face', which does just what it says on the tin. It's a square wave banger with a big bad bass that cannot fail to make you jump. Flip it over for something more hard and steppy despite the fact it moves as a slow and icy pace. 'Don't Speak' layers off kilter percussion and booming sub bass that makes for a meditative sound that will get all the head nodders lost in their own world right by the speaker stacks.

Review: JEB1 is an inimitable producer who brings his distinctive beats to Hi Tek Sounds with this tidy new single. "Guyana" has a real sombreness in the lead synth that rings out of stuttering drums. There are some soothing vocal sounds, too, but the dread of the bass and tension of the perc do little to assuage the feelings of uncertainly. East Man steps up for the remix on the B side. His version pops with tin pot percussion and growling bass that is at times smooth, at others gritty. It closes out a tight two tracker that packs a real punch.