Mario Masullo & Glitches: Pimps Ride Free
Persistencebit

On Pimps Ride Free (an apparent sequel, one presumes, to the 2008 12-inch Pimps Wear Gucci issued on Pimpsridefree), Symbiosis Orchestra member Mario Masullo (from Rome) and Glitches (Naples producers Filippo di Nola and Luca Liguori) team up for a generous, twenty-five-minute EP featuring three elaborately-designed tracks. Though largely tech-house in style, the pieces exude a dub-like character in their plenitude of multi-layered detail. The A-side's “Arabtrap” is an exotic, nine-minute burner that gets moving with a Latin percussion-tinged, pumping 4/4 groove punctuated by female “coos,” electro accents, swinging hi-hats, and, topping it off, a snake-charming flute. A colourful spectrum of voices, bright keyboard melodies, and percussive flourishes elevates the springy elastic techno of “Speak and Spell” to a dizzying level, while “Plasma Dreams” augments its steamy 4/4 with off-beat drum hits and synthesizer accents, and gives organ playing a prominent spotlight. Anything but minimal, the cuts are sonically rich but raw and rhythmically driving too.

April 2009