Larry McCarthy is irrepressible. In an interview with The Quietus, the producer known as Bruce revealed he had an epiphany during his last year of university: “I didn’t think about anything else other than getting releases on the labels I’d dreamed of being on.” Cue a powerful pair of records for Hessle Audio and Livity Sound’s Dnuos Ytivil sublabel. Now, right after his second Hessle release, he reveals a dubby mix of techno, dubstep and ambient sounds for Idle Hands. This is a trio of distinctly formed tracks, and each has an interesting novelty that’s hard to describe, a quality in-keeping with his previous material. One of the first things you notice is that the rough distortion you associate with Bruce productions has temporarily disappeared.
Bruce is the second in a short line of mononymous Hessle Audio artists named like Brazilian footballers. Like Joe before him, Bruce constructs texturally broad, off-kilter beats that are intriguing and banging in equal measure. His assured debut release of driving percussion and malfunctioning outer production on Dnous Ytivil pointed to big things to come with its “Just Getting Started” title. He’s since delivered on this promise, rising up alongside the likes of Batu, Asusu, Ploy and Hodge as one of the key figures in the young South West crew reshaping techno in their own low-end heavy, broken interpretation.
The Berceuse Heroique offshoot continues its focus on “raw UK shit” with the appropriately named Ruffian EP from the Bristol producer which features remixes from Hodge and Bruce.
Killer albums from Objekt, Population One and 2562 headed up a techno-heavy week of records.
Bruce, let’s get this out of the way first; I’m a fan of your name. It has all the comfy familiarity that hooks into a long lineage of Hessle producers ousting pretensions and easy to roll off the tongue at a moment’s notice. Honestly, Ben, David and Kevin talk of being particularly selective and difficult to unanimously please when selecting which records make the cut for their label, sitting on records for months in order to see if they’re a fit for Hessle or not, but I think there’s a formula at play here. New producers – call yourself Dave or Terry and you’ll be on the fast-track to success. Probably. Possibly.
Records from Peaking Lights, Bruce, Lukid and more made for a varied week of vinyl highlights.
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As the Livity Sound sublabel continues its mission to draw in external producers that share in the particular vision of Pev, Kowton and Asusu, so they turn to a completely fresh proposition in the shape of Bruce. While he may be a young producer, his approach feels like a logical continuation of the path laid out by Alex Coulton, Batu and Hodge in furthering the distinct message Livity Sound is conveying. Weight of production and a soundsystem sensibility have always been key to the labels, and from the outset Bruce has those prerequisites in spades. On the increasingly fragmented dirt road between techno and dubstep both of the tracks on Just Getting Started draw on the energy of both camps as they impart the addictive, show-stopping fireworks that make a Livity track stand out in the heat of a loaded dance.
The label announces its first release of the year, from rising UK producer Bruce.
The Livity Sound offshoot will play host to the debut offering from the superbly named Bruce – preview it here.