Belgium's Locked Groove recently made a splash with his debut EP, Rooted, released on Scuba's Hotflush label in January. He's already back to follow it up, this time on Tiga's Turbo Recordings, with Different Paths. While more understated than their predecessors—the producer's ADD left turns are much less abrupt—the record's three tracks are every bit as expertly programmed.
The title track is a powerful, slightly stepping stomper, eschewing melody for a selection of industrial tones, including one that sounds a bit like a heart monitor. "Structure" is similar in mood, though with more in terms of both rhythmic swing and melody, underscoring blunt stabs with grim pads, and building into a tense, throbbing whirlwind in the second half. The title of "Backto91" is a little puzzling at first—they certainly didn't make tracks this cavernous back then, especially not with hi-hats as exquisitely slippery as these. It begins to make sense, though, when diving acid lines appear in tandem with murky, hovering pads, filtering the spirit of, say, vintage The Black Dog, through a stomping modern house template. It's a fittingly brooding end to an EP firmly fixated on the seething midsections of club sets.
Tracklist: Locked Groove - Different Paths
A1 Different Paths
A2 Structure
B Back to 91
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