DJ Rum - St. Martins / Tension

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  • Among the few that I've spoken to who've heard of DJ Rum, St. Martins has been a tough sell. His other release to date, Plead with Me, on Smokin Sessions, has gained far more attention. That EP shows an admirable attention to sound design, and an enviable ear for bass, but is handicapped by a melange of samples which bristle with thorns where they should integrate smoothly. But keen ears should recognize "St Martins"—the track which began the Scuba portion of Paul Rose's RA podcast—as another beast entirely. It isn't that DJ Rum has played it safe. The outre vibes of "Plead with Me" instead have been re-channelled into an improvisational yet immersing piece of genre-defying dub, which is sentimental image music as told by a stoned dubstepper, all composed with the idea of a Caribbean beach swirling amongst the mental vapours. If that turn of phrase befuddles you, blame the fact that "St. Martins" is creative enough to frustrate comparisons to convenient musical reference points. If forced, though, you could point to Scuba's records, or perhaps some of Peverelist's on Punch Drunk, reworked into hazy excursions with steady 140 BPM kick drums. Synth washes redolent of ghostly waves and sonorous strings introduce the ten minute track from a powerfully visual vantage point, with the open and spacious sounds forcefully suggesting a cinematic framing shot: perhaps an oceanside expanse seen from a height. By the time a brave and thoroughly surprising sample concludes the track, "St. Martins"' intriguing narrative has pulled you deep into the Dadawah-esque, simmering, lazy psychedelia found therein. "Tension," on the flip side, begins with a whispered, breathy syllable. A "hi" quite close to the one found in 51 Days' "Paper Moon." The same funky, free-spirited sound design as 51 Days' pervades, but it's mated here to a tenuous, high impact approach to percussion closer to Shackleton's "Branch Is Weak," mixed with a few chopped vocals that position it towards exuberant London dance floors. This side is not nearly as strong as "St. Martins," because the artist's personality doesn't shine through as clearly, but it is an interesting and welcome addition to one of the best, most original and humbly superb tracks of the year.
  • Tracklist
      A St. Martins AA Tension
RA