Shitkatapult
With anoverwhelming anglo-dominance in the techno scene, it is perhaps all-tooeasy to be ignorant or forget that even the genre's most obvious rootsare black in origin and, I assume, Lars Fenin is hoping to somewhatrectify that injustice. Though not at the level of Rhythm & Sound'snear-impeccable, devotional aesthetic, Fenin's debut album evokes arespect for this heritage and lineage with an accessible aural lessonwhere the barriers between the two genres are regularly crossed withouthesitation or explanation. Deep dancy cuts like "Aware" and the bassheavy "Konstrukt" may seem like familiar territory (or even old hat) toinformed clubgoers and home listeners who have embraced these types ofsounds, but they will likely be impressed by the heavier portions ofmore traditional reggae thrust into the mix on the opening title track,moreso particularly with its unabashed reverence to the stickiest ofthe icky. Here, vocalist Gorbi, who contributes his rootsyWailers-inspired voice to the album's finest tracks, adds a truly vitaledge to Fenin's work that sets it apart from many of his peers."Thrills," the album's lead single, bounces with a bumping downtempobeat, springy synth bass, and just enough vocal to make this apotential breakout summer jam. In that same vein, "No C.I.A." recallsthe political and social passion of the finest Jamaican toasters, withGorbi riffing fantastically over Fenin's sparse three note melody andclicky percussion. The fusion of the genre's fits together rather wellon the dub-tech groover "None Of Them," where Gorbi drops in on thefirst hard 4/4 kick and rarely ceases for most of its duration. Groundedcloses out with the subtler shuffling rhythm of "South," where thestudio aceticism of masters like King Tubby and Lee Perry is paidwell-deserved homage, making for a fiiting end to this reverent debutfrom a producer I hope to hear much more from in the future.samples:
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