Ebola – Mutant Dubstep Vol. 1 (Spectraliquid)

UK-based breakcore producer Ebola (real name Ben Hudson) is certainly no shrinking violet; after all, this is the guy who titled his 2006 debut album on Sublight ‘Cannibal Penis Ballet’, and has subsequently released records on Noize:tek and his own Wrong Music label, whilst also finding time to traumatise live audiences alongside The Bug and Venetian Snares. While Hudson’s previously been most closely associated with the breakcore and IDM scenes, more recent releases such as his ‘On A Gastro-Bass Tip’ EP have seen his productions venturing deeper into dubstep, a trend (obviously) continued on this debut four track EP for the Greek Spectraliquid label, ‘Mutant Dubstep Vol.1.’ ‘Painkillers’ opens proceedings here with a particularly persuasive argument for Hudson’s shift in genre focus, ushering forth a dark as hell wander through thick, coiled sub-bass swells and harsh industrial beats that calls to mind Milanese in a particularly ferocious mood, while the addition of scattershot rhythmic accents over the top hints at Hudson’s breakcore heritage. By contrast, ‘Teledildonics’ comes across as considerably more ‘warm’ and ragga-focussed, with some seriously pitch-shifted beats and FX adding some unexpectedly sharp edges to the swaggering backdrop of wobblestep bass, siren sounds and MC vocals, shortly before things descend into bleepy chaos. The two remixes on offer here are certainly no less impressive, with Enduser reshaping ‘Painkillers’ into hammering industrial breakcore, scything rhythmic bursts blasting their way across a moody backdrop of vast synthetic bass and seriously timestretched vocals, before Shitmat takes ‘Teledildonics’ off on a distorted raggastep tip stuffed with one of the most headscrambling vocal manipulations I’ve heard in a long time. Seriously impressive stuff – and from the sounds of things, the next two instalments in the ‘Mutant Dubstep’ EP series from Cardopusher and Mobthrow should be well worth checking out.