Around the time of jozif's last EP for Culprit, the east London DJ and producer admitted feeling compromised by the constant churn of taxi-flight-gig. Then he remembered he once used to stack shelves in a Tesco supermarket. Perhaps that thought emboldened him somewhat, as he's managed to squeeze in another record, this time for Crosstown Rebels. If it was written sitting in a departure lounge or a hotel room, it doesn't show it: "The 508" feels like a bit of an event.
The main mix (and for once, the instrumental here really is just the original with the vocal removed, rather than some alternate dub version) is a slow-burning, almost doleful, affair for the most part. It begins with a chattering military march which grabs hold and doesn't let go. Around it unfurls cascades of low-register bass, an ethereal plink-plonking piano motif and Little Bear's near hymnal-like vocal delivery.
On the remix, promising Dutch-based Dane Uffe Christensen promotes the vocal more prominently in the mix but its primary features are a throbbing Death Star alarm, rickety, woody percussion and a melody struck on a glockenspiel. Little more than a year into his production career, it's further evidence that Uffe is developing a singular, exciting style.
