Articles
2015 Top 10s & 20s
Roomful Of Teeth
Albums
0
David Arend
Artificial Intelligence
Nimrod Borenstein
Randal Collier-Ford
Deadbeat
Julien Demoulin
Denki Udon
R. Nathaniel Dett
Dwiki Dharmawan
Yair Etziony
Marina Fages
Francesco Di Fiore
Flowers for Bodysnatchers
From the Mouth of the Sun
Goldmund
Markus Guentner
Momenta Quartet
Music Komite
North Atlantic Explorers
Ontal
Prequel Tapes
Saffronkeira
Slivovitz
Alessandro Stella
Subheim
Swarm Intelligence
Robert Scott Thompson
Triac
Trigg & Gusset
Aino Tytti
Andy Vaz
We Mythical Kings
Sebastian Zangar
Compilations / Mixes / Remixes / Reissues
Dub Phizix
Stacey Pullen
Replicants
A Simple Procedure
Tour De Traum X
EPs / Cassettes / DVDs / Mini-Albums / Singles
Ant'lrd
Big Phone
Great Panoptique Winter
Hydro
Mtwn
Mute Forest
Selaroda
Thee Koukouvaya
Joshua Van Tassel
Mtwn: Embers EP
Diffrent Music
This six-track (two of them CD-only) debut EP by Mtwn, two brothers from a small town in east Belgium, features three solo productions, two collaborations with Arkaik (one also includes contributions from Dexta and Mauoq), and a VIP edit of “Tech9,” originally the B-side of a 2013 Mtwn single. On the basis of the four tracks provided, the siblings traffic in an intense, precision-fueled fusion of drum'n'bass, jungle, garage, and dubstep, and the EP's tracks aren't wanting for energy and ideas.
Up first, the title track inches into position slowly until an insistent tribal groove lunges into position at the one-minute mark, the brothers focusing on high-velocity beat clatter and nodding to jungle in cartoonish vocal accents that regularly pepper the jittery pulse. Arkaik, Dexta, and Mauoq add their noise to Mtwn's own on “Tales of a Tonka Truck Driver,” a writhing, bass-driven cobra of a tune, all punchy kick drums, ricocheting snares, and strangulated voices, after which “Spinal Groove” serves up a bass-thudding swarm of metallic pings, cymbals, and cut-throat snares whilst also managing to sneak in a surprisingly delicate breakdown. Lest anyone think Mtwn's going soft, the brothers exit the release with a suitably tough outro, “Four,” whose halftime drum patterns could topple a building or two. Think of it as raw beat science by two skilled beat scientists.
December 2015