Jaskin & Uneven: Ashes / Kaleidoscope
none60

Wagz: Forward Motion
none60

Every none60 release rewards on multiple levels, and these latest missives from Silent Dust's label, a single and EP, are no exception. Both evidence connections to various club genres, from drum'n'bass to IDM, but they're considerably more than straight-up dance cuts. Jaskin & Uneven and Wagz invest their tracks with imagination and craft, the results reflecting the work of producers interested in doing more than churning out assembly-line material or replicating others.

With two cuts totaling a modest nine minutes, the Jaskin & Uneven release is the more compact of the two; it's well worth one's time, however. “Ashes” rolls in with a punchy bass throb, dubby snare accents, and ominous synth washes, the mindbender resembling some epic transmission from a dystopian future. Artfully crafted and panoramic in scope, the tune grows ever more commanding when a grinding bass line slithers through its hammering machine pulse. A tad less pulverizing, the flip's “Kaleidoscope” cools the pace for an almost contemplative five minutes as it fixes its gaze on an insistent future-tribal groove and acidy flavourings; while more subdued than “Ashes,” “Kaleidoscope” proves no less transfixing due to its elaborate arrangement and atmospheric sound design.

Daniel Wagstaffe's Wagz EP is a fitting complement to the single, so much so that one could almost imagine the releases being by the same producer. That said, the title track sounds positively blissed-out when heard after the Jaskin & Uneven pair. The production is as sophisticated, however, and the sound design as rich. Radiant synth flourishes, enveloping washes, and a muscular beat pattern combine to evoke the image of a luscious paradise slathered in New Age ambiance. Elsewhere, the sultry coo of a female singer adds to the splendour of “Lotus Flower,” which otherwise works a Jungle-by-way-of-2-step swing into its deep evocation, and “Old Habits” caps the release with a tinkly acoustic piano riff wedded to a drum'n'bass break, the closest either release gets to a standard genre production. That the two releases could pass for the work of a single artist isn't a knock against them, by the way. It more speaks to the unanimity of vision Jaskin & Uneven and Wagz exemplify in their respective offerings.

October 2020