- There's always been a whiff of mystery around L.I.E.S. and anything bearing a ".5" in the catalog number, from the earliest Terekke white labels to Person Of Interest's "Call This Number." And though Locks & DDM didn't get the same hand-stamped label as some of these other titles, it's among the label's more befuddling releases.
On the A-side, effects swirl around canned handclaps and stuttering snares. As the music switches direction, tiny samples emerge: gurgles of electric organ, tumbling toms and a heavily phased snippet saying, "Party zone dance!" From there the track trips onto another spindly beat before falling into a locked groove. The flip continues along a similar trajectory. Locks & DDM take an already skeletal groove (one where you can just make out a vocodered "O Superman" exhalation) and strip it back, before a Linn drum and a new sample changes the rhythmic pattern again. The last half of the B-side does a pinging lullaby and fuzzy island lilt before slipping into another locked groove. Unlike the brusque, lo-fi beats that have become L.I.E.S.'s métier, Locks & DDM's seven untitled tracks (or two side-long suites) are lighter, funkier and more psychedelic than almost anything else on the label. Whoever this artist is, there's a playfulness throughout their music. Locks & DDM might not scan as a DJ weapon, though in the right hands it could be deadly.
TracklistA1 Untitled
A2 Untitled
A3 Untitled
A4 Untitled
B1 Untitled
B2 Untitled
B3 Untitled