Lunice – One Hunned review

There’s no denying that the LuckyMe crew have got their game tight when it comes to sourcing the most iridescent of electronic music to beam out into the murk of the modern age. As such, the crafty signing of Lunice late last year for his debut solo endeavour, the Stacker Upper EP, made perfect sense alongside the likes of HudMo and Mike Slott, exuding an addictive re-figuring of hip hop traditions with a positively modern twist.

Returning to the label for his second official release, the technicolour talents of Lunice have been tweaked slightly, moving away from his reported b-boy roots to tackle a hinterland of styles. One thing definitely still remains, in that the melodic elements in the tracks have a naïve charm with which they snake around each other. Everything is produced so brazenly and with such clarity; there’s no sense of his striving for subtlety or surprise.

However, on the likes of “I See U” or “Juice” there seems to be more of a floor focus at work. The beats and synths are still minimal in their essence, pared down and devoid of excessive effects, but work towards a more mixable end. Dubstep rhythms will certainly afford these tracks a strong chance of providing some light relief amongst darker club material. “Juice” in particular stands out with its dramatic horn stabs and rapid fire snare trickery. “Guardian” reverts back to the hip-hop groove of the first EP while employing vast swathes of positively purple synths, whilst  “& She Said” has a midsection that sounds like Art Of Noise’s “Moments In Love” tricked out for playing in a lowrider.

On the remix tip, The Blessings fail to bring much more to “I See U” than dropping an extra sample into the mix. Girl Unit does a better job, stamping his own bassweight calling card on the original with echo-chamber hits and a trancey arpeggio for a dramatic finish to the EP.

Oli Warwick