Review: Debruit – Spatio Temporel

Artist: Debruit
Title: Spatio Temporel
Label: Civil Music
Genre: Dubstep/Grime
Format: 12″, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download

Frenchman, Xavier Thomas aka Debruit, is a bit of an odd-ball, but you probably have to be to make music as immense and quirky as this. His new EP, Spatio Temporel, takes up where Let’s Post Funk left off with its thick layers of syncopated rhythms and squelchy beats, only this time, as a nod to his roots in a modest Parisian Congolese basement bar, he takes us on a swift jaunt across Africa while he’s at it.

Opening with “149 Dalston Airline”, Debruit samples traditional Yoruba street percussion, feeding it through a vocoder while cowbells play off the humming synths and a barely-there funk-bass notes to tremendous effect. The breezy “KO Debout” combines a wobbly dubstep bassline with more of those whirring vocals before “Persian Funk” whisks us somewhere else entirely, opting for a heavier funk-bass foundation while Persian tar bleats are looped and chopped.

And finally there’s the summery “Nigeria What” which layers cut-up Yoruba vocals and tension drums atop subtle dubstep zips while Nigerian Highlife guitars drive everything along. Obviously Debruit is absolutely brimming with ideas and with Spatio Temporel running at just over fifteen minutes in length, he fits a phenomenal amount of them into a really tight space.

Review: Bec Crew