Boy 8-Bit – The Keep review

Probably the most tech-friendly artist in Mad Decent’s menagerie of talents, Boy 8-Bit has been having a great run of releases over the last year. Tunes like “Baltic Pine”, “The Cricket Scores” and mixes of Florence and the Machine’s “Drumming Song” have been lapped up by fans of his sophisticated synth work and funky treatments with drums.

“The Keep”, released on This Is Music, is not going to harm his reputation one bit and will delight fans of smart and uncliched dance music. While the synths are kept minimal and punchy, the tune really comes to life with some canny arrangements, dropping everything down to just a kick at one point and letting the notes slowly come back for a second time. The horror-movie vibes of “Restricted 18” employs this trick even more intensely – dropping down to the most distant and spooky bass hum possible before building up again.

Sheffield duo Run Hide Survive include a new mix of “Baltic Pine” which adds to the creepy b-movie vibe of the EP (almost sounding like Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” at one point) and Fools Gold stalwarts Jokers of the Scene remix “Wolfen” into a spooked out disco odyssey. Yet another awesome single from the Boy, and a release that will definitely sound fresh on multiple listens.

Review: Oliver Keens