Will Saul's Aus Music imprint has recently been linking house (deep, tech, whatever) with UK bass music, releasing music from Martyn, Ramadanman, Joy Orbison and Appleblim. Saul is among dubstep's most ardent supporters in the house community, embracing the dialogue between the two genres wholeheartedly. Here, we find Saul himself in collaboration with tech house oddball Mike Monday coming at dubstep from the other direction. "Sequence 1" is a quintessential Aus track, made up of shifting blocky shapes and rubbery basslines, but its lightly skipping progression, weird sound effects and prominent 808s recall recent experiments by Ramadanman and his Hessle Audio label.
Meanwhile the swelling synths so typical of new-school dubstep-influenced UK house of the Night Slugs variety overtake the meek tech house of "Small Moments" in grand fashion. Hotflush label boss Scuba provides a remix of "Sequence 1," and provides what feels like one of the pivotal moments in this burgeoning crossover. Scuba jacks up the tempo and adds some UK funky percussion, creating a cartoonishly exaggerated track that wisely avoids the dark technoid explorations of his recent work. In its many iterations, dubstep is often a "serious" music, screwfaced and stoic; it's nice to hear Scuba introduce some wood and rubber into those steely beats of his.
Tracklist: Will Saul & Mike Monday - Sequence 1
A Sequence 1
B1 Small Moments
B2 Sequence 1 (Scuba Remix)
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