- "I didn't make any of my music with an eye to who was going to sign it or what it's going to be," DMX Krew told RA in 2016. "There's no point in trying to do straight copies." This goes some way in explaining why, after 25 years, Edward Upton still sounds like no one else out there. The Londoner's latest EP, for the fledging Modern Magic label, twists his usual palette—electro, boogie, house, techno—into four feel-good groovers that evoke tropical alien landscapes and backyard barbeques in another dimension.
For someone long associated with Rephlex, a heady outlet that helped shape '90s dance music, Upton's music is surprisingly easygoing. Artificial Gravity's sparse 909 percussion and melodic basslines ooze good vibes, but there's a sense of nostalgia—or is it melancholy?—in the title track's '80s-style synths. The same goes for the more reduced "Calm Down," with its ascending riff and a swirling synth deep in the mix. The frantic "Stochastic Walking," with its busy percussion and melodies, feels abstract in comparison. Nostalgic or not, these are party-rocking tunes from an evergreen producer who shows no sign of letting go of his signature sound.
TracklistA1 Artificial Gravity
A2 Calm Down
B1 Lonely Weekend
B2 Stochastic Walking