We've always known that Justin Martin was a bass freak, but this first EP from his forthcoming Dirtybird long-player features some of his dirtiest, wobbliest work yet. Like so many house producers before him, the Bay Area stalwart has patently caught the dubstep bug, however belatedly. "Ghettos & Gardens" begins with little sign of the mayhem to come. Fingers click, warm jets of synth add dabs of colour and a cut-up female vocal may hint at something fluffy ahead, but two minutes in and a bass drop comes hurtling like an anvil being pushed off a cliff. The remaining four minutes reverberate to the intensity of the bass as it descends down the scale, with little more than a tough drum pattern for company.
"Hood Rich" is a more intricate, subtle affair, replete with the trace elements of hip-hop—breakbeats, tough vocals—which Martin is so fond of. To that he weaves in a quaint little synth melody, a brief snatch of strings and, inevitably, some more wobbly bass. Wobble, you feel, could be Martin's middle name.
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Tracklist: Justin Martin - Ghettos & Gardens
 A Ghettos and Gardens
B Hood Rich
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