Emptylight and Hed Nod/Hushush gather 15 exclusive 'dark hop' cuts for this 75 minute compilation. Artists include several names I was already familiar with - Mick Harris, Ocosi, Su8m3rg3d, NOS, Dijislov and Not Breathing - and others that are new to me: The Dustmite, Zero ID, Shinitaika, Olivier Moreau, Silk Saw, I-drik, Montagnn, Larvae, Turn and Alien Radio Station. Most all of them do relatively the same thing, here at least, with beefy Scorn styled head nodders.No surprise there, but how do all these artists stack up against Mr. Hed Nod himself, Mick Harris? The shit doesn't really hit the fan (like I want it to) until the 10th track when Montagnn buries the preceding 9, including Harris' brief and squelch-y opener, with a more powerful and gritty attack. Larvae then ups the ante again with an even heavier duty, militant rhythm. Turn go ultra low and slow with seriously phat hip hop. Dijislov and Not Breathing thankfully go well out of their way to *not* sound like a Harris protege/tribute/rip-off with a wider and thus more interesting array of sounds. And that is exactly the issue I have with "Low End Recon" ... the 5 or so artists that aren't afraid to change it up some or get seriously low end really stand out amongst the others' lackluster to average tracks. There are no bad tracks per say, but certain ones you're really tempted to skip directly to and repeat. Harris' Hed Nod LP volume 4 and the final installment of the 'Threesome' series are due out later this year.
samples:
- Dijislov - Madness March
- Larvae - Red Line
- Not Breathing - Short Bus Blues
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