- As far as current, dub-minded club music goes, Bristol's Rob Ellis, AKA Pinch, is seemingly incapable of putting a foot wrong. From smile-inducing nu-roots forays through to dark, twisted future-steppers, he's all but nailed it, assimilating a frightening array of influences in the process. (Anyone doubtful should head for his genre-melting debut album of 2007, or this year's sublime "Rise Up" rework.) But what of his latest effort for old-time collaborator Planet Mu?
A-side "Attack of the Giant Killer Robot Spiders!" welds tightly compressed bass to a broken, Rustie-esque 8-bit riddim, but keeps things resolutely heads-down with a lean, forward-marching half step snap and bleak, post-holocaust rave atmospherics. Halfway in, a buoyant, woofer-caning bassline—reminiscent of Loefah in his more pared down moments—rears its ugly head, making damn sure any stragglers get up off their backsides and back down to business. Over on the flip, "Teleportation" moves into even darker territory, pinning impossibly deep pulses of bass to a watertight 2-step flex in pleasingly Hessle-friendly fashion. Again, those trademark sci-fi atmospherics make a noteworthy appearance—this time in the form of clustered, chiming laser chords and billowing jetstream ambience—lending an otherwise ruthlessly condensed scenario a striking sense of space.
Both tracks are engineered to an astonishingly high standard—lesser producers would have struggled with so few elements—and whilst not quite as devastating as his previous two cuts for Tectonic, they will nevertheless do serious, serious damage on the floor.
Tracklist A Attack Of The Giant Killer Robot Spiders!
B Teleportation