- Captivating rhythms from the Australian hard drum master.
- "This is gonna sound really cocky—but there aren't that many people banging out the rhythms that I know," DJ Plead told RA's Tanya Akinola back in April. Cocky or not, he's right. The Sydney producer has made an instantly recognizable sound for himself mixing strains of dance music from around the world. He connects the dots between post-dubstep, the hard drum sound he helped pioneer, and dabke, the kind of music you'd hear at a Lebanese wedding. This fusion comes to life on "Going For It," the first track Plead has released on Livity Sound, and one that might have become his signature tune if it arrived at a time when he could still play clubs.
"Going For It" first dazzles you with its nimble hand percussion, but then a bleating synth note comes in, like something you might hear on an old Peverelist record. Suddenly everything clicks into a fusion that feels new and intuitive. It's a feat repeated on the excellent "Rough Text," where synths wrap around rollicking hand drums and breathy grunts, or "Ess," which sounds like Plead's bid to make a UK funky anthem. Almost every record Plead has released is essential, but something about this Livity Sound debut feels tighter and newly confident.
TracklistA1 Going For It
A2 Rough Text
B1 Espresso
B2 Ess