Anthony Shake Shakir – Frictionalism 1994-2009 Remixes Part 1 review

Kyle Hall aside, it’s hard to pick two up-and-coming producers better suited to the task of giving Anthony Shake Shakir’s off kilter Detroitisms a contemporary tweak than FaltyDL and Space Dimension Controller. In the first of two Rush Hour-curated releases, Belfast youngster SDC – fresh off a stunning EP on resurgent Belgian imprint R&S – turns his and to the seminal “Detroit State Of Mind”, first released in 1998. He slows down the tempo here, with bubbling synths and claps forming an analogue electro-disco funk melody that is becoming the SDC signature. It also contains that sharp, granite hard kick that underpinned previous tracks, most memorably “Transatlantic Landing Bay” from the Temporary Thrillz EP. It even sounds great at +8.

Flip over for FaltyDL (real name Drew Lustman), who impresses once again on his remix of “Assimilated”. The New Yorker’s sound has its roots in the UK, with his releases displaying a fondness for dubstep, funky and old-school garage as well as house. On this effort Falty goes for a dense, layered approach, with snare hits busily chopping and changing direction amid a flurry of analogue squiggles, with a bassline groove that is slowed down, tweaked and generally messed with in an insouciant manner that would no doubt make Shake smile.

More than merely a novel idea for a remix project, this release serves as a near perfect snapshot of what electronic music is all about in 2010: fertile cross-breeding between genres, eras and continents, with one foot respectfully planted in the past and the other wedging the door open for the future.

Aaron Coultate