- A few years ago, lo-fi house and jungle weren't considered bedfellows. These days they constitute two ends of a spectrum explored by the likes of DJ Sotofett, the Acting Press crew, J. Albert and Deejay Xanax. On Lyon's Brothers From Different Mothers label, artists like J-Zbel, The Pilotwings and DJ Normal 4 have worked breakbeat science into their cross-genre, '90s-loving productions. Full Quantic Pass takes the idea further than most. There's a hint of IDM in his spiky grooves, which chatter along at high tempo without going anywhere much. He began to develop this sound on 2015's "Toll Gate," on Midi Deux, and it comes to strange fruition on his Brothers From Different Mothers debut.
Tika Bongo's major failing is timbral. Instead of the musty, period-faithful sound quality of many Brothers From Different Mothers releases, the EP favours a flat clarity that highlights compositional flaws. On "Tika Bongo Rain," plastic synths dawdle between ambient waft and Mark Fell-style hyper-precision. It only finds direction in the closing minute, when the breakbeats let loose in a delirious cascade. On "Rekthank," a pungent acid line and portentous pads create an unwelcome sense of melodrama. It doesn't help that the groove is stuck in fitful stasis for the duration. The rest of the EP redeems things, cutting a subtler balance between abstraction and junglist grace. It also sweetens the pill with gorgeous ambient chords. "DJC" is built around hypnotic peals of dub effects, while traces of live-sounding bass add a sprinkle of kitsch to "Anua"'s barrage of drums. Both tracks' meandering structures create the pleasant feeling of drifting on a river of syncopation, gaze tilted up into the clouds.
TracklistA1 Tika Bongo Rain
A2 DJC
B1 Rekthank
B2 Anua