- Since 2012, Ryan Aitchison, AKA Mella Dee, has moved between house, garage, grime, techno and drum & bass, only settling (with a UK garage-house amalgam) when he made music with Woozee as Mista Men. All those styles have steadily pooled together, culminating last year as a hearty feast of jungle breaks and bassline on Redlight's Lobster Boy label. The moody spaciousness and relative simplicity of Here / Trellick made it a hit. On his latest, the Deep Soul EP, it sounds like Aitchison has thrown too much into the pot; some of it works, some of it doesn't.
"Deep Soul" is '93 jungle hungover and sluggish, rewired into groggy techno without much depth. It's serviceable, though a bit bland next to a number of records that have done a more forceful job bringing those genres together. UK garage is next on the agenda with "Universal." It begins all tough and techy, with rave nodes and a souped-up 4/4 bassline, but then deep house pads come along and disrupt the gung-ho energy. "Circular" does the retroactive schtick best—the worn-out drums and lush '90s chords Aitchison adds half way through complement the track well. Endian's remix of "Deep Soul" is an acquired taste, blending tropical sweetness with murkier stuff. The whole thing could do with a few less ingredients and a touch more refinement.
TracklistA1 Deep Soul
A2 Universal
B1 Deep Soul (Endian Remix)
B2 Circular