The bass wobbles are lacking the punch and intensity of dubstep’s current maestros and comes across as a caricature of the genre.
[Listen | Purchase] In the mid/late 90’s Rupert Parkes (aka Photek) was one of the innovators of intelligent drum n’ bass pumping out classics such as “Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu” and “The Hidden Camera”. After his 1998 album Modus Operandi his sound moved on to more housey territory. Solaris, while having the some of the trademark Photek sounds and textures, seemed to the lack the eagle-eyed focus of his previous work. As he has been concentrating on film sound tracks for the last decade, his output has been sporatic, a 12” here a compilation track or remix there.
Fast forward to 2011, Photek releases his new extended player, Avalanche; and decides to drop the drum n’ bass completely over tech house and dubstep. The EP starts off with the uneven Avalanche which seems like an odd choice for a lead in to a new style. The bass wobbles are lacking the punch and intensity of dubstep’s current maestros and comes across as a caricature of the genre. The aptly titled “Slowburn” does, however, show that Photek can produce a solid half tempo track- Daft Punk-esque synth lines (ala the Tron Soundtrack) move over lumbering beats peppered with synthetic zaps. While Photek, may have yet to prove himself in the dubstep arena, the two tech house tracks (“101 and “This City”) work quite well. At points I’m reminded of Swayzak with the echoing chords four on the floor beats. Overall, I would say that I have mixed feelings on this EP, and encourage other listeners to check out the clips Photek has uploaded on his Soundcloud page.
Avalanche is out now on Photek Productions. [Listen | Purchase]
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