| With a debut EP boasting four journeys into rumbling, echoing, haunted dancehall minimalism, each known by a five-figure code number rather than a name, low frequency newcomer Spatial is one of a growing band of post-Burial producers whose attention to evocative detail in their music is as great as their reluctance to self-promote. "Here's my sound" they seem to say "and that's all I need to tell you." In some hands this anti-stance could be massaged into an attention-diverting image in itself, but Spatial makes a compelling case for the virtues of less versus more and may well have produced one of 2009's most essential dubstep releases, right at the start of the year. Joe Muggs' review in The Wire tells it like this - 2008's clearest trend in dubstep is "future garage", a technologically-enhanced re-imagining of the sound's 2-step origins by Martyn, 2562, Ramadanman & co. On his debut productions, Londoner Spatial could have risked simply reworking this new formula: the microhouse clicks, Basic Channel washes and clean subs are certainly present and correct, However his understanding of original UK garage's clipped shuffle, snappy woodblock hits and compressed emotion goes way beyond pastiche, and the incorporation of older rave elements like '80723's Detroit strings and riffs and '80207's contrast between cushioning alto vocal samples and sharp stabs creates a distinctive sound world. Most of all, though, it's the expert manipulation of space to give a sense of buoyancy, of loosened gravity, that make stepping inside these four tracks so inviting. Limited edition pressing of 500 - grab this now and file your bragging rights for later use. |
