Capracara – Panic Beats review

Sometimes a record comes along that ticks all the boxes for a humble vinyl addict. A luxuriously presented sleeve with eye catching art work, an inner sleeve (all too absent these days) and music that surpasses the presentation. This latest release from boutique London imprint Fine Art Recordings does just that, giving Capracara’s “Panic Beats” the full release it deserves.

In a sporadic production career to date, the producer has excelled with releases for DFA and Soul Jazz as well as the odd remix for Detachments and The Hundred In The Hands. “Panic Beats” may be his finest moment to date though; a glorious ode to Giallo horror soundtracks, the track originally surfaced last summer on Seed Records’ Seed X Part 3 compilation. It’s migration to another vastly underrated UK imprint in Fine Art might well belatedly endow the track with the recognition it deserves.

“Panic Beats” proves to be every bit as exciting as anything you might find on the recent and critically acclaimed Giza EP from Gatekeeper. An expert melding of hefty industrial textures, haunting chords and ever twisting electronic arpeggios atop a punishing EBM beat, it’s a track that bears repeat listening.

Diskjokke steps up to remix the track, seeming to revel in the menacing origins; crafting a reimagination filled with dizzying showers of percussion, amidst which sits an ever changing backdrop of gristly acid stabs and soaring, heavily funked organ riffs that sound oddly nicked from a 20:20 Vision record. It’s this menacing and schizophrenic rhythmic thrust that ensures this record sits well beyond the realms of pedestrian nu discoism.

Tony Poland