Duffstep – Close review

Duffstep continues to impress us with his genre-crossing works on both his own label Join The Dots and now Electric Minds. He first came to our attention last year with his superb 12” – “Know You/More Lies” – on Saigon Recordings and the young producer shows no signs of slowing up as we enter 2011. His debut album Getting To Sirius is due out this month and is a fantastic collection of tracks that clearly exhibit Jeremy Duffy’s versatility and creative flair.

Here, in “Close” he blends house rhythms with a dubstep soundscape and a deep, soulful groove. Remixes come courtesy of Hreno & The Mole and Yam Who respectively, who both slow down the tempo and inject their own unique flavour to the track, making for an irresistible 12” release. First up is the 137bpm original, which eases us in to the release with gorgeous swathes of synths balanced tentatively around hissing, relaxed beats and neatly woven, but ever-shifting melodies. It’s got the same sort of fluidity in composition that one might assign to a Joy Orbison track before he went house, with rising crescendos, bass swells and intricate textures and SFX forming the body of the piece.

To counterbalance this, Canadian production outfit Hreno & The Mole team up and strip back the easy-like-a-Sunday-morning vibe of Duffstep’s original and transform it into a shimmering slice of techno-tinged house with rippling b-line and gently pulsating rhythms. Finishing up, Yam Who steps up to the fore with a fun, glitchy boogie venture which encompasses a Jimmy Edgar style soundscape to great effect. Yam Who utlises high-pitched synths, gloopy bleeps and plenty of feisty character. Funky flourishes and frolicking melodies make for an excellent re-lick – a real party starter. It’s another gem to add to add to the record box.

Belinda Rowse