Wow. It’s the best collaboration ever.

But you knew that when you saw the artists. What you didn’t know is how exquisitely original the final product would be. I say original because both the music of Four Tet and Burial rivals close to none in their respective styles, perhaps because those styles are so amorphous. Four Tet typically flits between IDM and experimental post rock, with influences ranging from jazz, lounge, dub, hip hop, and ambient music all thrown in. The seemingly endless array of inspirations are wonderfully filtered through the unique and hauntingly dark, echoing percussion of Burial’s bass-clicky dubstep. Two pioneers in their field create two tracks that fans of either will immediately recognize as a perfectly organic extension of their sounds. Staccato electronic sounds meet the ghostly remnants of thick dubby bass lines. It’s almost as if the album was written before they met.

But I’m glad they did.

The album/ep/single/project was limited to 500 copies and sold out fairly quickly after the pre-release info, despite no cover art or track samples. It’s almost like a black vinyl slab that came out of nowhere to change our world.

NO space (this is a one-time only affair)

CAN’T buy (because there were only 500 copies)

but you still MUST listen.

This new record is from dubstep/drumnbass producer Martyn, who’s developed his skillz in the darkly sensuous nether regions of Holland. For someone who has not listened to dubstep before, this album is a perfect, accessible introduction to its style, while proving that the genre is eternally versatile. Here, Martyn pushes the boundaries of dubstep further than I’ve heard in a while. It’s very percussive and rhythmic music, from which you can really sense his drum and bass background. Several songs are very jungle-inflected, and it provides a welcome repose to the sometimes overbearingly wobbly bass lines that ripple through the scene. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still gonna find that thick bass on many tracks; These Words (featuring Dbridge) is a killer pop dubstep track, which could be a breakthrough single for the artist and the genre. Dbrige’s soulful, weary voice is lined with a deep bass that pulses unrelentingly. Some tracks definitely show off his clubroots, as he effectively blurs the lines between techno and dubstep with some pronouncedly more electronic dancey beats that are thickened by the occasional (and welcome) dubby bass. As a whole, the album doesn’t wobble like some heavier hitters (Benga, Skream), it ripples and waves. It’s already up there on a bunch of people’s lists for best album of ‘09, and I have to say I’m getting the same feeling with it I got first listening to Burial’s Untrue, which means Martyn’s got a great future ahead of him.

Great tracks: Elden St, Vancouver, Krdl T Grv, Seventy Four, The Only Choice, Little Things

The album was self-released on his own label 3024 that he started with artist Erosie, whose artwork appears on the cover above. It’s a big file because it’s at 320 kbps.

myspace

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This is pretty great instrumental electronic hip-hop, a la Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Samiyam, and others, from a guy called Mark Pritchard from somewhere in the world (us, i think). It has some pretty thick synthcopated beats to it, and a dubstep sound in parts, which is great, but means it’s perhaps a bit more assaulting (in a good way) than other instrumental hip hop artists such as FlyLo or Dabrye. Still, really thick squishy synths, and it’s from Warp (like Hudson Mohawke and Flying Lotus), which I guess is trying to make itself the spot for this new musical subgenrestyleshit as well (whatever, as long as they release a new Aphex album in the next year or so I’m fine). I’ve included his first EP as well, EP1, which if anything is a little more bounceable than the full-length, which has a profoundly darker, dirtier and dubsteppier influence.

he knows what he’s doing - you just have to go along for the ride..it gets better and better, just let it take you.

last.fm

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