After a successful dive into the wonderful world of vinyl back in August last year, Locus Sound is back. As always, they come bearing gifts in the form of some of the freshest up and coming dubstep and only rightly giving it the vinyl treatment. Hailing from the dungeons of the Zelda universe*, Lord Jabu heads up Locus Sounds' return to the foray with the El Molino EP. A selection of three heavyweight tracks, full of all kinds of dubstep flavours.
It is not the first time we've had the opportunity to host a Lord Jabu track, the last time featuring his Albion Collective release, another solid EP. At just the mention of that tape, when you compare the two projects it is evident the scope that Jabu has as a producer. His style shines brightly through his work. His chime game is strong in both 'Yagoda' and the title track 'El Molino', check the youtube for the juanimation of this one. This time around, a cool collaboration between chimes and hi-hats make up the foundations for the melody. With this track, less is more. The beat dropouts (I'm a sucker for these being an MC) make this track what it is, giving it that little bit extra to pack a weighty punch when the bass kicks back in.
'Swarm' however flips the script entirely. It's Lord Jabu meets Bowser's Castle, cos' I can see flames and hear screams accompanying this one, metaphorically speaking of course. Jabu shows off his skills here, with the two tracks differing majorly, yet without straying from the release in its entirety. Move over Mario; it's Waluigi's time - this release (not sure if it's intentional or not) has got me in my feels with the Nintendo nostalgia. The dungeon-y vibe carries on to the last track on the B-side. And if 'Swarm' was the preliminary boss level music, 'Buccaneer' takes it to the next, and final level.
Lord J delivers. A smooth stepper with a swagger like Captain Jack, 'Buccaneer' is different yet consistent, oozing character as it swings its way into your eardrums. Sharp hi-hats, an eerie melody, and a rapid rum ta tum of the cleanest drums I've heard in a while. A strong release off the back their first run of vinyl, the Locus crew are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Hats off to both the Locus crew and Lord Jabu on this one, this juan a certified cop!
*(Who knew me being a gaming nerd could be utilised while writing about dubstep)
Pre-Order from Big Cartel here :
Lord Jabu:
Locus Sound:
Commentaires