I am not sure what is in the air so far in 2017 but I have really been feeling a lot of music that is more on the “deeper” or “liquid” side of things. Not that it is a far stretch as I am long time devoted fan of such labels as Good Looking, Creative Source, Soul:R and the like, but there is just something about this springs new music that has been calling my name to this corner of the drum and bass world. With another brilliant and deep offering, Tesseract Recordings has some severe depth for us this May. Actually, this new release from Alex SLK is available on Tesseracts Bandcamp page now and will be out worldwide on May 20th.
While we are speaking of the sounds of Good Looking, when I first heard ‘Closer’ I thought I was hearing some lost gem from the likes of Big Bud, Nu Moon, or Artemis (side note, if you are not familiar with the works of those producers, please take the time and look up their music. You can thank me later). The haunting yet lush reverbed pads, thwacked snares, and slow moving sub bass all brought together with shakers and high hats paint such a vivid image you can not help but be transported to that other world Alex SLK was channeling when he put this work of art together. While there are minimal elements that make up this song, it just proves once again that you don’t need to overload drum and bass for it to be powerful. The right placement of a few quality elements can be more effective than overdoing it and trying to cram so many things into the music to where it looses focus. ‘Memories’ is a sexy roller filled with echoed piano notes, chimes, filtered female vocal snippets, restrained strings and a more movement to the baseline then ’Closer’ to let it roll on out. I can see this one playing at full volume as you drive along the back roads getting lost on a perfect summer afternoon.
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