‘Bounce’
is the second release for Starkey aka PJ Geissinger on the Starksound
label. PJ Geissinger has been performing as Starkey for only three
years and has already garnered attention for his energetic live
performances and original sound. In 2005, Starkey won both the
North American and Mid-Atlantic Laptop Battles, in Seattle and
Washington D.C. respectively and in March 2006, London label,
Werk Discs, released his debut solo release, “Local Headlines”
(on 12” vinyl). In 2006, Starkey also released a remix on
Peace-off/Ruff out of France.
This new 12” inch features 2 cuts which reach 12 minutes
in length. The title-track ‘Bounce’ is a crunked-up
mashup which features the tempo-manipulated and processed skeleton
of Young Dro feat. TI’s ‘Shoulder Lean’. The
track exists on a constantly pumping platform of deep-bass and
shifty, ominious phaser/synth FX which create a nicely conflicting
sense of tension in comparison to the glitzy, low-rider crunk.
This is a sure-fire dancefloor smasher and showcases the best
elements of crunkcore and dubstep in one entity; ‘thugstep’?
The second track ‘Prism’, sounds like a muscular 6
minute soundtrack to a fictional movie about a futuristic, once
beautiful-now desolate and war-ravaged Far Eastern landscape,
whose people attempt to reminisce about its twilight years but
are brought crashing to reality by another outbreak of sonic destruction.
Starting off with subtly-growing warping percussion, an oppressive,
raw and dirty beat muscles in accompanied by an ethnically rooted
wind instrument which is shroud in dub-heavy echo-effects. Then
the bread-and-butter of dubstep (i.e. hefty, distorted bass-warps)
join the ever increasing layers to form a threatening call-to-arms.
Starkey keeps the beats and bass running as newly introduced and
heavily processed electro motifs drift by. The addition of a host
of varying sounds moving in and drifting out creates a sense of
depth and environmental ambience to the track, and Starkey, expertly
strips the track to its melodic undercurrent (which sounds like
mellow East-Asian IDM) in order to create a subtle yet threatening
build-up to a satisfying drop.
Add to your record bags now and look for further Starkey releases
in 2007 from Terminal Dusk, Trouble & Bass and Lo-Dubs. (AM)
For
fans of: Grim Dubs Series, Skream!, Loefah, Caspa, Kode9
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