London-based electronic producer Pat Hime (aka Patscan) first emerged back in 2007 with his debut ‘Plasticine’ EP on Rednetic and its accompanying ‘Muddled Up’ download-only EP on Concrete Plastic, and now two years on this 12” EP represents the first release on his own brand new Lewd Recordings label. Opening track ‘Happy Accidents’ is certainly indicative of the increased dubstep influences that have been infiltrating Hime’s more recent work, fusing his familiar glistening IDM synth textures with relentless, sharp-edged snares, head-snapping edits and juddering sub-bass swells, but in this case the deft incorporation of the genre’s trademark elements sees Hime cleverly adding them to his considerable production arsenal, rather than becoming subsumed in a current runaway style.
‘Chow Beller’ meanwhile offers up a rattling broken-techno ride through glistening melodic jungle percussion, retro-electro drum machines and buzzing synths that calls to mind one of AFX’s more bouncy moments, before ‘Slip Pervis’ unleashes the sort of retro-bleep laden electro-breaks excursion you’d expect from Radioactive Man, glittering retro-analogue arpeggios and all, closely followed by ‘Spleen Vent’s wander out into Detroit-stained, jazzy IDM-techno rhythms. All things considered, this is certainly a beautifully crafted EP that sees Hime adeptly incorporating more upbeat dancefloor elements into his productions with considerable panache, making this some of his strongest material yet.
You can also download the 320kbps mp3 version of ‘Happy Accidents’ for free from www.lewdrecordings.com.
Chris Downton
*
