- Brawny simplicity and sleek functionality are the key ingredients of Truce's Be There / Uhh, aside from the drum machines and synths comprising the actual music, that is. Londoner Winston Roach makes his techy house tracks with bold and broad strokes, and his first record for Keysound translates the method into a pair of stripped-down bangers. It's a notable release for the label, who mean to present the London-specific deep tech sound in a wider context of UK bass and hardcore. What use they'll be to DJs, however, will depend on how much they need a punchy, sidewinding bassline tacked onto a dry 909 sequence.
The point being that Roach's 12-inch will largely appeal to deep tech diehards—there's plenty of music doing much of the same already out there. Hugo Massien's recent Kontrol EP, for instance, offered similar severity and intensity, albeit with added depth and versatility. But these tracks have a fervor that can make them convincing in the moment: "Be There" confidently works out its loopy funk, and "Uhh" conjures dark images of retro-futuristic dance floors. It's the kind of music with a finite shelf life, rinsed in the appropriate places until another Truce record takes its place. Catch it at the right time, though, and Be There / Uhh should do fine.
TracklistA Be There
B Uhh