Review:
Kyle Hall aside, it’s hard to pick two up-and-coming producers better suited to the task of giving Anthony Shake Shakir’s off kilter Detroitisms a contemporary tweak than FaltyDL and Space Dimension Controller. In the first of two Rush Hour-curated releases, Belfast youngster SDC, fresh off a stunning EP released on resurgent Belgian imprint R&S, turns his intergalactic remixing hand on the seminal "Detroit State Of Mind", first released in 1998. He slows down the tempo here, opting for slo-mo, bubbling synths, claps and a vintage analogue electro-disco funk melodies that are fast becoming the SDC signature sound. FaltyDL (real name Drew Lustman) meanwhile remixes "Assimilated". Despite being based in New York, Falty’s sound has its roots in the UK, with his releases displaying a clear affection for dubstep, funky and old-school garage as well as house. On this effort he goes for a dense, layered approach, with snare hits busily chopping and changing direction amid a flurry of analogue squiggles, with a bassline groove that is slowed down, tweaked and generally messed with in an insouciant manner that would no doubt make Shakir smile. More than merely a nice idea for a remix project, this release serves as a neat snapshot of what electronic music is all about in 2010: a fertile breeding ground between genres, eras and continents, with one foot respectfully planted in the past and the other holding the door open for the future.