Ibex: Meltdown EP
Yore

Having appeared previously on 3rd Ear, Rushhour, and Carl Craig's Planet E, Tony Ollivierra aka Ibex now brings his Detroit House sound to Yore for the label's twenty-sixth release. Like Yore releases in general, Meltdown is quality music from start to finish, and Ollivierra invests the EP's four tracks with a painter's eye for detail and acoustician's ear for rhythm. Opener “18681” strolls in with a pumping, Latinized beat and a grooving bass line before dizzying synth swirls and staccato piano figures twist the tune into jazzier shape. Crowd noise gives the title cut a party vibe that nicely complements the track's funky urgency; claps, siren-esque strings, and a broiling bass pulse bring a raw and earthy feel to the mix, while Rhodes chords add a smattering of warmth. The flip's “My Mojo” plunges deeper, as thick smears of chords and analog synth melodies drape themselves over a gliding, hip-swinging pulse, after which “Mystery Babylon” unfurls in Rick Wade mode with an in-the-pocket, bass-powered jam caressed by silken strings and prodded by insistent syncopations—a gloriously soulful finish to another stellar Yore outing.

October 2010