King Midas Sound: Dub Heavy – Hearts and Ghosts
Hyperdub

Intended as a teaser for the forthcoming King Midas Sound album, Dub Heavy – Hearts and Ghosts presents three of the album's tracks dubbed into viral alternate versions. The material, the fresh spawn of Kevin Martin (aka The Bug) and spoken word performer Roger Robinson, is both laid-back in its mid-tempo BPM and bottomless in its oceanically deep production design. The vocal-less “I Dub” plunges the listener into a mass of pulsating bass lines, guillotine claps, and a vaporous production style that's echo-heavy to the extreme. Though the mix is dense, it's not so opaque that the soft, sci-fi synth melodies that warble so plaintively at its center can't be heard. The harder-edged “Ting Dub” merges hip-hop-flavoured boom-bap with ominous siren wails and voice murmurs, but it's worth hearing for the whip-crack of the snare alone. Robinson contributes a vocal to “Too Long Dub” but the track's reverb-soaked mix is so foggy and viral the vocal nearly vanishes altogether. No doubt fans of London Zoo, Martin's 2008 The Bug outing, will be looking forward excitedly to the release of the King Midas Sound album too.

July 2009