(DATAMOD045) Atsubox - Crossed Roads

This one by Atsubox has been on the cards for a while, so it's nice to see it get a release on Italian label Modulate Recordings this year, if only to ensure that third track "The Feeling's Changed" can cement it's place in the end-of-year "Night Tracks Of The Year" list.

That's not to take away from the other tracks, which I'll come to shortly, but this track is something else. I wrote about it some time back saying that this was the sort of track that could achieve some sort of commercial success if it could find its way into the hands of the right DJ.

Well, it turns out that, for once, I wasn't far wrong with this one, and it's got quite some play time from dubstep superstars Skream & Benga on their Radio 1 show, so hopefully they'll reach some well deserved new ears.

Title track, "Crossed Roads" is a subdued garage affair, verging on ambient, while "Crush" is a more traditional dubstep piece, perfect for fans of Clubroot. However, both tracks feel like they're leading up to "The Feeling's Changed", a track that feels like far too many drums have been forced into too small a space, causing them to crash into each other and stumble over. It's radically different, but it feels so familiar, and coupled with some ultra-emotional sampling, it makes for the impressive duo's best piece so far.

The EP is capped off by a remix from another one of their famous fans, coming courtesy of Boxcutter under his "The Host" guise, changing things up in his ever unpredictable style.

You can grab it now from Beatport, and presumably elsewhere at a later date.

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Atsubox - Lost In Limbo

Update: The EP release is delayed for 24 hours due to some problems with bandcamp.

Atsubox, the first couple in future garage to allegedly come out of the closet, have self released a right treat to keep you going in between individual releases on Loveless and Prospekt and their forthcoming collaborative work on Modulate.

The "Lost In Limbo" EP, if anything, serves as a great (and cost effective) way to introduce yourself to what they're about. Something I find with Atsuko & Stompbox is that while their peers will try and set the tone and atmosphere of a tune through the pads, they do so more through their drums, rather than being an underlying force, driving the track along, they're strongly integrated into every other element, meaning one wouldn't work as well without the other.

Out to Atsukobox for the obscure Pokemon reference too.

 

Grab it on their Bandcamp here for just £2. If you aren't willing to fork out that, then you I will lose all respect for you and punch you.

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(PSKLP001) Atsuko & Sangam - Tomodachi

It's not often I write about releases that have already been, well, released, but this one was too much to let slip by. The impressive Prospekt Records have marked their debut LP release with an outing from Atsuko and Sangam in the form of "Tomodachi", a collaborative work between the two who we've featured on Night Tracks heavily in the past.

The LP doesn't make the division of work between the two producers blindingly obvious as other collaborations have, although Sangam's stylish simplicity runs through the release, and Atsuko's (I suspect) drum work manages to keep what is a very minimal release more than interesting.

At its heart, it's simply drums and bass, it's entirely stripped back until there's nothing left to take out, and that's just perfect coming from this duo. It's not over-produced, it's not flash, it's not showy, but instead it's a subtle slow burner that demands attention. Whilst there are some producers that can talk forever about production techniques, or how to tweak this setting infinitesimally, there are people like Sangam and Atsuko out there that are making thought provoking music and showing the world. I know which I prefer.

It's hard to single out a highlight from something that works so well as an album, as a true collection of tunes, and most of them wouldn't be half as effective on their own as they are fading into or out of the next or previous tune.

It's simple. Check it out.

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Atsuko Cheeba on Rood.FM

Be sure to tune into rood.fm on Thursday (14th June) and listen to Ting's show for a guest mix by Atsuko Cheeba, who'll be playing all sorts of garage-y goodness before Ting herself steps up. Shouts to Ting for continuing the top series of guest mixes that have seen the likes of Sangam, Stompbox and myself representing Night Tracks step up in recent weeks.

For those in the UK, it's on from 4-6pm, and for those outside the UK, check here for your local time.

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AtsuBox - The Feeling's Changed

Atsuko & Stompbox. Two normally impressive producers that combine to form a mighty, future garage producing megazord, in the form of AtsuBox. Their latest piece, 'The Feeling's Changed' is a hectic piece of breakbeat garage that, alongside being a solid tune, has all the characteristics to be a commercial success if put into the hands of the right 'DJs' at the big radio stations. See for yourself...

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