Mothboy, "Raw Loops And Numb Breaks Vol I"

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.