A quality, reasonably diverse compilation from Giles Peterson’s Brownswood imprint, Brownswood electr*c 2 inhabits the wonky byways of music, sitting comfortably between Hip Hop, Dubstep, Drum n’ Bass and various swung varietals of “house”. The top-notch production values on show throughout the fourteen tracks are testament to the processing power of modern technology, although I do hanker for an occasional frayed edge to catch at my ears, something raw and driving that is not just a nod to past glories, or a ghost in the machine. The manner in which relative unknowns from around the globe can dissimilate the bass emanations and endless nuances of the micro-genre and the hardcore continuum is testament to two things; one is great A & R from the label, and the second being how intuitive and hardwired certain tropes and feelings in electronic dance music have become through the last three or so decades.
Anenon’s Shifts brings plaintive melodies, drawing on IDM textures, vinyl crackles and a hyperkinetic beat to manufacture a techno-broken-house-step hybrid that is both cheery and eminently danceable. Jus Wan slinks in with a soulful bass-driven style, harking back to the slinky late 90s rollers of Endemic Void or the Moving Shadow camp. Perth’s Ta-Ku opens proceedings with a joyous, rich-toned, synthetic synthesis of booming bass, hopeful synths and a hundred-strong posse of hired Tongan muscle, as any track leaning towards the Hip Hop end of the equation should try to do. A tenser, experimental style is demonstrated by Vancouver’s HxdB on Savage Pets, an itchy cowbell-driven two-stepper with enough menace and swagger in its DNA to intimate that the creator has been influenced by early Horsepower Productions, Noodles and Zomby. Of course, a modern dance compilation would be incomplete without a disembodied vocal intimating the tropes through a miasma of effects a la Burial Synkro & Indigo’s Knowing You nods along majestically, as deep bass bombs anchor the soaring 3am synth vamps.
As a follow-up to the consistency of the first compilation in this series, I think that the Brownswood main-man can be quietly chuffed with the maturity and poise of the producers inhabiting the grooves brought together by Alex Stevenson. Whilst there’s nothing game changing displayed on Brownswood electr*c 2, it’s a quality gathering of varying rhythmic impulses and buddles o’ bass; what more could you want from a compilation?
Oliver Laing
