Optimum

Light Year / DS-10

Hum + Buzz return with their first release of 2011 from label co-founder Optimum. After releasing his debut EP 'Max Power' for Planet Mu in 2010, contributing to the excellent Night Slugs Allstars Vol. 1 and Modeselektion Vol. 1 compilations, Optimum returns on Hum + Buzz with two sci-fi, dancefloor tracks. 'Light Year' is a 4X4 time travelling excursion through brass rhythms, dotted arpeggios and razor sharp percussion. Gangsta techno meets UK bass, a crossover that Optimum seems to be making his own. On the B side 'DS10', named after (and partly made on) the Korg software for the Nintendo DS, is a menacing march that progresses into the unknown. All superfluous elements are discarded; the track focuses squarely on the relentless bassline and unpredictable 808 drum pattern. With these minimal ingredients combined, DS10 is a certified sound system bomb!