- Dropping in mid-January during the post-New Year lull, the second single from F on French label 7even Recordings has slowly burnt a white hot hole in the dubstep-techno radar alongside the utterly blistering first instalment from last year. Praised highly by Mary Anne Hobbs, amongst others, F is rapidly becoming a point of reference and a sought-after producer. It's easy to see why. While dubstep-techno crossovers are nothing new, the quality of production here sets the mysterious Monsieur/Madame F. Aupetit in the upper echelons.
"The Untitled Dub" continues on from where the first single left off by striking out with purpose. It opens with a steely chord which strikes again and again unabated in slowly weaving and opening helices as if signalling war. In answer, the heavy kick drum storms in and unleashes a squadron of dog fighting rhythm patterns which scrap, dive and weave overhead in marvellous detail. Buried somewhere in the mix is a ricocheting and phased reggae horn riff to peg things back to their dub origins.
"Phantom" begins innocently enough with a few echoing bars that also harks back to classic Jamaican dub. It doesn't last long. As soon as the kick drum smashes its way in, the illusion is shattered. More chugging and rolling, "Phantom" still showcases a rhythmic trickery and steaming jungle atmosphere to rival the best. Do yourself a favour and throw away your MP3s and iPod headphones, buy vinyl and big speakers and throw this on.
Tracklist A The Untitled Dub
B Phantom