- A confrontational blend of grime, techno and drum & bass.
- Hi Tek, a style of dark and confrontational club music that blends grime, dancehall, techno and drum & bass, is the term coined by Anthoney J Hart for describing the tunes he makes as East Man. On Red, White & Zero, the excellent 2018 album on Planet Mu, he paired angular beats with verses from some of London's sharpest MCs, resulting in slept-on bangers like this. But for the first release on his new label, Hi Tek Sounds, he goes solo, delivering four screwface instrumentals.
All the tracks stand up on their own, thanks to Hart's rhythmic flair and knack for balancing gnarly sounds with more tender flourishes. "Twilight," the EP's gem that some people might remember from February's RA podcast, opens with a dulcet whistle set to hefty kicks, before exploding into a coarse yet funky tumble.
"Future Tek" does something similar—a cosy haze hovers over scythe-sharp percussion—though the drop is harsher on the ears. Only the fiercest MC could flow over drums that distorted. "Nose Bleed," perhaps a reference to the aggressive techno sub-genre, is another menacing variation on the theme, this time with car-alarm stabs, moody synths and kicks that swing like a barrage of punches. After all that, it's nice to hear Hart experimenting on "Mash Head," a woozy cut with intense bassweight and war-like sound effects. Where the others bash you over the head, this one lulls you into hypnosis.
TracklistA1 Twilight
A2 Future Tek
B1 Nose Bleed
B2 Mash Head