Midland - Bring Joy

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  • Midland, like George FitzGerald, is part of the newest dubstep-plus wave, the younger siblings of an earlier set—but only slightly earlier, since this stuff has been moving fast for a while. Yet it seems like there are signs of slowing down, and one of the biggest is that what once seemed like a unique kind of exchange it was having vis a vis house and techno has now become a virtual throughway. Bring Joy is a good example: out of four tracks, only one, the title cut, really much resembles dubstep, and even that's the kind with a "plus" after it, since "Bring Joy" in its natural state is pitched midway between mid-'90s jungle and late '90s U.K. garage: rolling breaks, pitched-up R&B woman singing in the background, Detroit-derived synths washes, and bass rolling out like a massage. Midland's B-side, "Dead Eyes," on the other hand, sounds like it could have been played as far back as the Zanzibar; it's a house record, and a good one, with the same kind of insistence that marks the A. The Radio Slave mix of "Bring Joy" has plenty of what you'd figure: excessive length (over 12.5 minutes), languid build, pitched-down vocals, and sudden uptick via hi-hats and organ stabs. Leeds comer Ewan Smith, credited here as Youandewan, goes nearly as long (just a minute under Radio Slave) with his low-key, warehouse-minded version.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Bring Joy A2 Dead Eyes B Bring Joy (Radio Slave's Joy & Pain Remix) Digital: Bring Joy (Youandewan Warehouse Dub)
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