Lifted At Juno Download

Review: Conquerors and Commoners' is Spor's second EP release for Lifted Music, for whom this is the first outing in 2010. Spor?s beat work yet, it showcases some of the most progressive and finely engineered music the scene has to offer. Its four tracks span many styles of drum & bass, providing yet another benchmark from the young talent.

"Kingdom," a tough, dancefloor driven track is Spor at his tearout best. It is aggressive with a punk-like attitude. Violent stabbing breaks clash with frenzied industrial sounds and FX whilst grating synthetics cause a sense of tension. This tension builds and intensifies paving the way for a drop sheer velocity. "Overdue" changes the EPs direction completely with a beautiful and harmonic offering. Intricate and humble beats cascade over a peaceful guitar melody loaded with emotion. The plucky strings and rolling drum patterns make for an organic sound flow, which is complemented wonderfully by the evocative vocals of South African singer, Tasha Baxter. The soft and mellow atmosphere of "Overdue" is then swapped for a more brooding and melancholic, yet still beautiful vibe with "Kaori." Tumbling drum patterns fall over a haunting organ arrangement. Again the atmosphere is heightened to the point of euphoric as Spor expertly works his engineering skills to charge this track with all the colour and texture possible. "Halogen" finishes the EP with a return to fast, high-octane territory. After a manipulated synth into, the track turns into a punchy, electro-infused sound. Glitchy bleeps and beeps, FX and pulsating bass make this a fierceful animal.

Displaying diversity and ingenuity on the scale of this EP, it is no wonder that Spor is already considered to be one of the brightest talents on the scene. Taking his engineering and production skills to the max, he has made a proper extended play as they were intended to be made.c

Review: Having toyed with electro/house under the Deadmau5 affiliated Feed Me alias for some time now, Jon Gooch makes the bold decision to venture into dubstep territory under the Spor moniker. Hitherto the guise for his own take on explosive neurofunk, now Spor gets a makeover with the Pacifica EP. It's a soothing, vocal-led number with rippling intro, belching bass stabs and synth distortions in abundance. Musical meets menacing here and hardened Lifted fans shouldn't be disappointed. Remixes by Chasing Shadows (think tearing industrial dubstep) and dubstep darlings Kito & Reija (a re-vocalled melodic version), plus acoustic and instrumental versions accompany the original.