George Fitzgerald – The Let Down/Weakness [Hotflush Two]

The debut release from George Fitzgerald comes in the form of two slinky deep house/garage hybrids that keep it slow and emotional, rewiring the circuits between genres in that neverland that the dubstep scene has created in its search for dance floor bliss. He shares similarities with Joy Orbison, which is no surprise since he’s been picked up by his Doldrums label as well as sitting next to him on the Hotflush roster. They both have a way with melody and a meditative slinky bump to their music. Its pretty smooth stuff that comes alive in sets with its bitter-sweat emotional pull and punchy, bumpy beats.

Organic rhythms and warm, soulful tones usher in the first track ‘The Let Down’, it’s like a mini melodrama in the way it builds with the focus on melody and dance floor sadness before releasing that tension through big house stabs and bumping drum patterns. The flip opens with teasing melancholy pads ‘Weakness’ and a slight dub techno air before a bumpy groove slips into its stride with a head nodding smoothness that flips and twists as it rolls making you move without even realising. Its subtle stuff that builds to a nice meditative drop where things get a little bumpy with chopped up vocals taking a more prominent roll, weaving between ascending synth tones and bursts of deep bass that reach out of the grooves and really give some impact.

Two really quality, slinky little numbers from what looks to be an already pretty accomplished producer. Look out for this one, he’s bound to have more where this came from.

http://www.myspace.com/georgefitzgeraldmusic
http://www.manmakemusic.com/
http://www.hotflushrecordings.com/

12”

It’s back, the assorted records from my bag post of music I’ve been wanting to chat about but hadn’t got round to it yet… This month I catch up on a few that I’ve not been able to stop playing.

Addison Groove – Footcrab/Dumb Shit [Swamp81]
Anthem of the moment sees Headhunter in a juke inspired beat down. Bass heavy 808/909 drum patterns, chopped and looped vocals and an insane amount of dance floor moving energy. This is so addictive it could do with its own dance routine.

Joy Orbison – The Shrew EP [Aus Music]
He’s back hot on the heels of last years hyped Mngo and the fantasitic J.Doe. This time is a slow burning gem of a release on the renowned techno label Aus Music. ‘So Derobe’ is the pick for me, restrained melodic euphoria over rolling beats, bliss. Actress drops in a subtle rework too.

James Blake – Bells Sketch EP [Hessle Audio]
Following up his insane Untold remix and low-key collaboration with Airhead on BRAiNMATH comes a diverse three tracker of twisted soul infused, blues addled R&B meets dubstep funk. Yeah he’s hard to pin down, but has a sound all his own. ‘Buzzard And Kestral’ is rhythmic joy on wax.

Bok Bok ft. Bubbz/Brackles & Shortstuff – Citizens Dub/Pipey D [Blunted Robots]
Pure party jams from Bok Bok, destroying it with adrenaline fuelled ascending descending bass tones with a grimey electro beast that should give you a big shit-eating grin. The flip sees the label bosses bring out the winding rave gear, keeping it funky and broken.

Altered Natives – Believe In Me ft. Sacha Williamson/(Zed Bias Club Mix)/Raaaatid Einstien [Fresh Minute Music]
Smooth spaced out vocal cut that brings the soulful house vibes coming on a track you get so hypnotised by you don’t want it to stop. ‘Raaaatid Einstien’ ups the hype with a raw energetic funky cut that should keep the floor moving in fine style.

Egyptrixx – Battle For North America EP [Aaahh! Real Monsters]
Bubbling electro infused dubstep/funky hybrids ‘Hexagon Ya’ is THE one with A ‘Citezen Dub’-like ability to twist floors out of proportion with addictive ascending bass tones, builds and drops. The rest is suitably on it and they’ve got a Night Slugs on the way too, killer stuff.

Kuedo – Dream Sequence EP [Planet Mu]
Jamie Vex’d debts’ his Kuedo name with a damaging EP. Taking the off-centre bright synth led hip-hop meets dubstep he’s been destroying it with since his ‘Twitch’ rework and last years In System Travel EP, and shaping it further into his own vision. ‘Star Fox’ is a real gem and makes me nostalgic for my old SNES.

Slugabed – Ultra Heat Treated EP [Planet Mu]
Sluga gets deep down and dirty with his own gnarly hyper coloured vision of hip-hop, like the evil twin to the already slightly deranged Kuedo EP, he makes harsh dance floor noise in the most fun way possible, which shows you can keep it dirty and send it sideways all at once.

12”

The return of the semi regular, ‘randomly selected platters from my record bag that I’m really feeling right now’ blog post, maybe it needs a catchier name…

Joy Orbison – BRKLN CLLN/J.Doe [Doldrums]
Two 12”s, a few remixes and all the hype in the world. His first release on his own label, Doldrums, shows he deserves it too. BRKLN CLLN is the subtler cousin of Hyph Mngo, just as catchy and full of blissful energy. J.Doe takes the diva samples and throws it down old school house style.

Geiom & Shortstuff – No Hand Signals/Wardenclyffe [Planet Mu]
Tag team antics from two heavy weights, Geiom’s music is always special and Shorstuff makes some of the most exciting stuff around and together we get hyper coloured house variants built to move you. There is something grimy about Wardenclyffe, its like eski-acid house. No Hand Signals picks up the tempo but keeps the funky bump.

ASC – Porcelain/Focus Inwards [Nonplus+]
More Nonplus+ I can’t get enough… having missed the d’n’b boat entirely this is the first label that’s getting me excited about the sound. Super smooth half stepping d’n’b that’s so minimal it sounds like electro being fed through a wormhole. The flip takes in dubstep a tempo, big up the multi tempo 12” crews for pushing DJs to think and ride that pitch shifter!

Headhunter – Prototype (Modselektor remix)/Sex At The Prom [Tempa]
This 12” sounds massive: Modeselektor return the remix favour and make their own take on dubstep, which sounds like big room techno with a dark edge. Sex At The Prom goes deep with acid bubbles and hypnotic bass. It’s like Berlin and Bristol are tearing each other a new one on the same 12”.

Starkey Ft. Badness – Ok Luv/Ok Luv (instrumental)/Multidial [Planet Mu]
Taster of things to come from Starkey’s next album ‘Ear Drums and Black Holes’ due March 2010: super smooth hyper soul with grimy undertones and epic colourful melodies. Multidial, heads right to the dance floor with robo-bass and energy surges, killer.

V.I.V.E.K. – Kulture/Meditation Rock [Deep Medi]
Big room material from V.I.V.E.K., dub techno undertones pulled off in a very Deep Medi way, your soundsystem will shake. Things get ravey with Kulture,the filtered stabs re-live the hayday and make you want to loose it in a field outside the M25. But there is something else here too, an eerie blissful dub vibe... Which is where Meditation Rock picks up from.

Joker – City Hopper/Output 1-2 [Tectonic]
These tracks aren’t even the catchiest Joker tracks this year but I still can’t shift them from my head. He keeps it grimy and techy for Tectonic, Output 1-2 especially. City Hopper makes you want to roll around the city with your windows down, swaggering funk and irresistible melodies that somehow remind me of the circus.

Instra:mental/Skream – No Future (Skreamix)/Minimalistix [Nonplus+]
Minimalistix is THE one here: Skream takes it into tech infused stripped back and subtle roller territory while No Future tears the dance a new hole. It’s like the evil twin of his Zomby Float remix and will have to do until that drops fingers crossed…

Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo/Wet Look [Hotflush]

The debut release for newcomer Joy Orbison on the superb Hotflush label has caused quite a stir. Much has been said about Hyph Mngo already, there’s a buzz around it and rightly so it’s an epic hands in the air end of the night euphoric anthem but I really can’t be bothered to go into the whole Wob Vs. Hyph argument here about the state of dubstep today. So lets talk music…

Hyph Mngo is a bright shining track that takes simple elements and shapes them into a track grater than the sum of its parts. An organ riff, cut up female diva vocal snippets and skipping bass heavy drums combine to make a simple and effective dance floor anthem. An epic intro gives way to all these elements that just build and build in a dance floor glow. It’s hard not to raise a smile it has that end of night euphoric I’ve had to much MDMA, shit eating grin sort of vibe to it. In the right hands at the right moment this track will create some joyous dance floor moments.

Wet Look takes things on a darker deper tip fusing garage-esq bumping beats and sweeping, glowing synth pads that get filtered and tweaked into energetic shapes. The mantra ‘I’m falling…’ echos out, repeats and eventually resolves itself in ‘I’m falling and I can’t hold back’, which gives this roller a slightly lonesome melancholy feel that really works with the colourful synth shapes. Hyph might be getting the headlines but Wet Look stands its ground with ease and makes sure that if the hype means that Mngo gets rinsed the 12” will have endless playback value. There is no doubt, plenty to come from Joy Orbison he’s certainly got the skills his beats are a breath of fresh air.

Download: Joy Orbison's Doldrums Mix

http://www.myspace.com/joyorbison