DJ Scud vs. Rich Kid
Murder Sound
Slepcy
And Again
Ambush
It’s a fucking breakcore/splatterbreak mashup, with the Ambush crew, once again. Oh yes. Never before did gravel down your throat feel so good.
Murder Sound is DJ Scud and Rich Kid (better known as Panacea)’s tribute to early ’90s hardcore rave. While the two mine that territory for samples, the music bears only a passing resemblance. Where hardcore proved effective for extended dancing, god knows what maniac speedfreak could dance to this madness for more than ten minutes.
The DJ Scud half of the split is characteristically mindblowing. He’s taking the dancehall influence farther than on previous releases; here, he goes so far as to include a dubbed out number. Of course, it only retains the massive holes that dub punches into reggae, and the slower tempo; there’s more than enough distortion and careening noise to satisfy the more ardent fans. Of his five tracks here, two are from the impossible to find Gun Court seven-inch, co-produced with DHR favorite Schizuo.
The other half of the split is by Rich Kid, another of Matthew Mootz’s aliases. This half of the split is reassuring; it’s a sign that Mootz is staying away from the mediocrity of his split with Cativo. It takes him a while to really kick in with the breaks, but they’re pretty devastating when they come in. “Screwface” sounds like much of the Possible Records sound; slow beats with plenty of dark atmospheres and ugliness. Overall, the CD is a pretty rousing success.
Slepcy are a duo from Poland who stir up some ugly, haunting breakcore noise. Unlike many of their Ambush brethren, there’s no reference to dancehall here; Slepcy are cut from a much different. Their sound is more in the vein of the early Third Eye Foundation CDs, Ghosts in particular. The two share a lo-fi concrete noise aesthetic, with a penchant for processed vocal moans, layers of guitar noise, samples of unknown origin and complex beats. However, where Third Eye Foundation focused on the oppressive atmosphere, Slepcy go straight for the gullet. The broken beats pile up on each other, overwhelming you in a flood of drums. For me, Slepcy are the threat of Gabber made flesh, merging speedfreak rhythms with dense layers of processed noise. And that’s a beautiful thing.
Ambush Records: http://ambush.c8.com • Slepcy: http://www.slepcy.com
