November 26, 2010 @ 3:50 am
Review: Kuoyah – Aurorae EPs [Frijsfo Beats]
Italian dubstep producer Kuoyah might not be on your radar, but with the two part “Aurorae” EP release on Frijsfro (“keeping beats frijsfro since 2008”) he offers up six cuts of immersive, bathometric beats that will appeal to fans of the deeper end of dubstep.
As dubstep’s star has risen, we’ve seen an increasing number of collisions with other trendy styles of the moment, mainly tech house and dub techno. There’s certainly a strong dub techno influence in play here, with the elegant spatial minimalism of Basic Channel and the haunting textural explorations of Echospace springing to mind. Hell, you could easily call this a broken beat techno release if you wanted, because aside from a few 2-step rhythm patterns there’s nothing intrinsically “dubstep” about these tracks.
Still, techno and dubstep are both different shades of the same urban desolation. Whatever side of the divide you put these tracks on, they make a perfect soundtrack to wandering the city streets at night, or pondering the future of machine-human interfacing while getting stoned off your face in your bedroom. Just serving suggestions – but this definitely isn’t one for dubstep DJs looking for “filthy dancefloor bangers”, or whatever the generous term is for the shitty mid-range wobblestep you hear everywhere these days.
If there’s a criticism, it’s that none of these tracks really stand out – all six are solid and run together to form an engrossing half-hour headspace, but they all explore very similar ideas in very similar ways. I suppose this style of music doesn’t really allow for the concept of standout tracks. Never mind: just turn the lights off, inhale deeply and turn up your ‘phones.
Tracklist:
1. Sun Resonate
2. Grain Pulse
3. Solar
4. Radium
5. Convex Gravity
6. Barely You
Genre: Dubstep (Ambient, Tech)
Out: Now
Rating: 7/10
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