- Crissy Murderbot's Sleazetone label is best known for its amalgams of dubstep, electro and juke, sometimes quirky, sometimes cone-shredding. But with this record from James Braun, a Danish producer with releases on Tartelet and mothership, the label takes a sharp left turn into relatively traditional deep house. "OD" and "ID" both feature bluesy Rhodes or organ chords against rollicking percussion and drum machines, with a hybrid feel reminiscent of Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts; "ER" lays out electric pianos over slow, rolling congas, with a clear nod to both Stevie Wonder and Masters At Work. All three are immaculately produced, crisp and gooey in all the right proportions, but there's nevertheless something static about the more uptempo cuts; the instruments suggest songcraft, but the structure is tracky to the core. Not to sound like an old fogey, but the melodic ideas feel a little rote; the music has drive, but lacks for direction.
Five different remixes flesh out the digital release, but they don't bring anything drastically different to the table. D. Savi AKA 2400 Operator adds some Detroit-inspired portamento chords to "ER," and Sapriori's "OD" is cheekily old-school; Murderbot's "ER" is more disco, and Noise Floor Crew's "ER" adds a few tweaks to the filters. The most minimal of the lot, Olin's "ID" rework, might be the best—a little dubbier and a little steppier, marking time in fine style.
Tracklist A1 Od
A2 Id
B1 Er
B2 Er (Noise Floor Crew Rmx)
Digital: ER (Chrissy Murderbot remix)
Digital: OD (Sapriori remix)
Digital: ER (D Savi remix)
Digital: ID (Olin remix)