Expect toes to curl, one with a bludgeoning beat and unsettling grimace.
The Greeks are at it again. This time it’s not economics and deficits and meeting deadlines, but electronic music. June Records is hitting a bit of a purple patch. Following on from Trenton Chase’s excellent Axis comes DimDj (aka Dimitris Evagelopoulos.) The Lower Parts alumnus, and Anopolis member, has been releasing for more than a decade with a spread of genres tackled. Of late it’s house music, specifically of the acid washed category, that has been the focus with Guilty Pleasure being case in point.
As soon as Ortofon is put to outer rim it’s clear that the EP has the makings of a greasy and grimy encounter. Expect toes to curl, one with a bludgeoning beat and unsettling grimace. Claps cut the bulbous 303 bars of “Air Trax”, a taste of things to come. The squawk and squirm of acid appears across the EP, hence the Guilty Please. But Evagelopoulos uses that tried and tested sound to good effect, the molten menace of “A4U!?” Pioneers like Phuture and DJ Pierre are present in “308,” the driving pound of percussion draped in sonic squalor. The claws of the A-side are clipped for the flip. Rolling rhythms are still in place but a groove replaces the wallop, chords lilting and swaying in the reduced tempos of “Nervous System.” The finale arrives in the form of “Search” and the mood pendulum makes its last swing. BPMs drop as a slow and brooding piece is presented. The tools of Chicago are employed to create a deep and engrossing work.
Guilty Pleasure is a wonderfully diverse mini-LP. The A-side hammers, serving up club-centric punch, while the B-side soothes. For those who aren’t familiar with DimDj this debut on June is an expansive cross section of what this Greek artist is all about. More please.
Guilty Pleasure is available on June.
