Becoming Real – Fast Motion review

Having received a barrage of interest from across the board (largely due to his sell-out debut release on Tough Love in ’09), Becoming Real takes on Ramp Recordings with this glistening slice of glitched out, grime-influenced, half step beauty. The self-proclaimed inventor and pioneer of the “ghost-step” sub-genre ups his game with this one. The haunting, trickling rhythms so clearly resplendent in “Fast Motion” encapsulate a multitude of sounds, clips, clops, gushing rhythms, vocal snippets and evolving melodies. The very process of “becoming real” seeps out of every pore of this release. There’s an overwhelming sense of metamorphosis, of moments captured in stasis, before the track changes direction, flitting quickly on to the next image and beyond.

For example, “Jen’s Clock” ticks away moodily, creeping through the midnight hour, hesitating, pausing, never quite sure of where to go next, until a slow movement sees the sound fall deeper and depper into the dark expanse of night time and the greater unknown. Tiptoeing synths, tense tapping and a low, rumbling bassline underpin the venture with oodles of atmospheric excitement and eerieness saturated into every beat. Unique and enticing, innovative and understated, it’s got a smattering of D&B producer Rockwell’s cinematic ‘Noir EP’ – a comparison that can do no wrong, in our opinion. The DVA ‘Hi Emotions’ remix of ‘Fast Motion’ completes the EP, adding a more spaced out, smooth, synth-y interpretation of the original, with warm reverberating vibes to create that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Outstanding.

Review: Belinda Rowse