Alix Perez & EPROM - Shades

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  • In the world of bass music, few beasts are as fierce as Sander Dennis. The Portland producer known otherwise as EPROM balances rhythmic gymnastics and EDM-sized sound design with the precarious ease of a tightrope walker. It's a skill that's made tunes like "Regis Chillbin" such enduring floor crushers. Dennis's first release of 2015 matches him with like-minded UK producer Alex Perez. Shades, their first collaboration, bears Dennis's influence more than Perez's. The duo doesn't hold back for a second: "The Serpent" goes from 0 to 100 in about 20 seconds, and it's banner EPROM throughout. Serrated basslines lash like tidal waves while pitched-down vocal samples add to the fray. The whole thing has a gargantuan swagger that feels like it's trying to knock you over. "Minotaur" is another doozy, but it's tempered with a hip-hop lilt that makes the electrical-storm basslines easier to take. "Into Light" is where Perez's influence starts to seep in. Though it's got those signature EPROM 8-bit bleeps, it's also loaded with synth horns, whistling chords and a snaky drum track, bearing more in common with footwork than anything else. "Chiron" goes for broke trying to crush your head with intense, all-encompassing low end. A four-tracker that's about as subtle—and effective—as a stick of dynamite, Shades finds Perez and Dennis taking joy in their more destructive impulses.
  • Tracklist
      1. The Serpent 2. Chiron 3. Minotaur 4. Into Light
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