Review: Strictly USA business: San Diego duo Sub Killaz make their EP debut on New York imprint Digital Terror. Five tracks deep, each one precision designed with unfettered gully on their mind. The Kathy Brown-sampling "Dreaming Of You" and "Wolf Bite" both flex on the modern jump-up sound with a lean, linear grumpy bassline. "All I Wanna Do" is a more minimal again with heaps of space to accommodate the spoken word sermon on machines. "All I Wanna Do" flips the switch with a fuller vocal sample and a wily sense of funk in the stuttering bassline and "Nightflight"-style shakers. Saving the heaviest for last, "Lessons" tears up from the off with a much broader sandpaper style bass hook. Think Taxman and you're on the right track.
Review: The new I:Cube album is a rapid-fire collection of tracks woven together (there's a clue in that title you know) which takes the manner of a live set. The idea is essentially to bring the dance music album back to its raison d'etre, the dancefloor. To keep things interesting, the tracks are whipped through with a wonderful irreverence, as cheeky radio interludes and impulsive switch-ups keep things from staying too formulaic. Rather than some vision of a smooth, linear DJ set, this album instead takes the stance of creating pleasure through disorientation. Mr Chaix is a master of alluring grooves, and he uses that gift to really mess with your head when he changes tack, as between the edgy bleeps of "Y.O.U.R.O.C.K." and the light-hearted disco stomper "Get The Fever". Those surprise moves keep you engaged through all 23 tracks of this joyous beast. Chaix's lack of pretension is one of his greatest strengths; the I:Cube way is a direct and satisfying one. At no point is it cheesy or hackneyed, but it never tries to be too clever for its own good. With a live feel to match that immediacy, the "M" Megamix is a triumphant statement of what a dance music album should feel like. It might not be a comprehensive answer, but it certainly puts paid to all those "collection of singles" efforts out there.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.