Simon Smerdon has got the funk. It's come up from out of nowhere,bitten him on the ass and he's all the better for it. Recently seen oncompilations like 'Economi$ed' and Low-End Recon,' Simon was one of theprogenitors of the 'Dark Hop' movement in former project Ocosi, buthere has moved on sonically, passing on the trance-inducing, minimalbeats and bass of previous Mothboy releases to create somethingentirely new. 'Raw Loops...' sees the Moth branching out into some ofhis finest, most fucked up work yet; the Eno-esque piano motifs of'Your Fingers Pt 2.' wouldn't be out of place in the sets of mostambient DJs, while 'Safe As Houses' amps up the funk to Guru- andPremier-type levels. The liquid guitar work of 'Midnight FunkAssociates' is one to listen for with its rattling hi-hats and stonedurban cowboy kinda drawl. It sucks you in and never lets go. With suchquality beats afoot, it's not surpising that certain heavybeat-oriented labels are already coming a' calling, so here's toanother volume's worth of sick beats and deconstructed funk.

 


Read More