Tight drums, deep bass, melodic and harmonic mastery wrapped up in intricate and evolving atmospheres and textures.
Swedish born Bristol producer Materia has worn a lot of hats during his years producing music—which incidentally number quite a few now—from Drum and Bass to Tech House, and more recent forays into the steadily deepening black hole of dubstep and Bass music generally. I suppose that is inevitable when you immerse yourself into the music scene of a city which has a very distinctive sound, or at least a reputation. Materia’s take on the genre is unique though, I think it’s his Tech House background; the beats tend to be crisp and rolling with a bit of groove, always tight and well constructed, which is possibly also due to the DnB grounding of his youth. They have a sound and a feel that really brings the club floor filler vibe to tracks that could easily fall into the 140 half time standard dubstep drill under less skillful navigation.
Materia is one of the most prolific producers around, he seems to have releases popping up on labels all the time, covering a whole range of genres. Recently he’s been favoured by the legendary Carl Cox, and whatever view you might have of the man, his status as a really big dog DJ is unassailable. Materia’s track “Response” (Lowbit Records) was featured on last years Carl Cox mix CD based on his season’s residency at Space in Ibiza. Support like that certainly won’t harm his reputation.
Komatiite is Materia’s third release on Bristol’s Slime Recordings, an independent label that has been consistently bringing out solid dance floor oriented bass heavy music for the last few years. It’s a deep and fairly chilled out affair with lots of space and reverb. Fizzing sounds swell and pop around a slow melodic synth line, while a slight Eastern flavour pervades the percussion lines that hover underneath. A deceptively simple composition which belays some subtle but authorative production. The drums that I mentioned earlier are present, adding drive and solidity to what might otherwise become a slightly too mellow track. The bass is deep and considered, anchoring the melodic and harmonic elements of the upper frequecies. The whole track works very well as a piece of music, ticking a whole load of boxes.
The remix by Wascal takes things in a different direction. Altogether more sinister, the subs are brutally dominant and the rhythms are disjointed and slightly distorted. What was originally a reflective and introspective track is turned into something demented and persistent in its intent. Like an ADHD suffering twelve year old with a full tube of blue Smarties inside him washed down with a litre of the cheapest bright red cherryade from the local corner shop. I’d love to see a club full of ravers try to dance to this!
Tight drums, deep bass, melodic and harmonic mastery wrapped up in intricate and evolving atmospheres and textures. What’s not to like?
Komatiite is available on Slime. Buy at iTunes or Juno.
