"Background Be," the "BB" of this EP's title, doesn't meander about. It slinks in and gets down to business: charging, anthemic tech house. That comes as something of a surprise, since Ion Ludwig's work has frequently been marked by warped timbres and feel. Here, he tweaks many aspects of the track—the throbbing lead synth, particularly, as well as the percussion—but the whole is clearly focused. It's the best version here by far—DeWalta's pair of remixes extend it in one direction apiece, with the "Private Rework" putting almost all the emphasis on percussion—for a while, the verses are marked with what sounds like filtered handclaps till the other instruments finally join back in—while the digital-only "Hectoring Rework" bustles nicely on the low end but is sort of one-note on top.
"TT" stands for "Timeless Thing," the EP's highlight. Here, Ludwig largely leaves the tech behind and focuses on the house, in the latter-day "deep"-manqué style, but he doesn't seem like he's trying to prove how much realer he is than anyone else, and it works to his advantage. The dusky bass throb is equally comfortable hosting futuristic Detroit synth chords, a snatch of flute straight off an old Mo' Wax sample pack, and dudes muttering things. It doesn't hurtle like "Background Be" but it stays with you longer.
Tracklist: Ion Ludwig - BB & TT
A Background Be
B1 Background Be (DeWalta Private Rework)
B2 Timeless Thing
Digital: Background Be (DeWalta Hectoring Rework)
| 
