Bass
October: 8 bass releases you need to hear this month
Bass in your face
Randomer & Hodge 'Second Freeze/Simple As'' (Dnuos Ytivil)
A meeting of minds from two key artists in the UK’s bassified techno scene. Londoner Randomer and Bristolian Hodge sound so natural together that this 12” could feasibly pass as the work of either on their own. Yet the combination of the two clearly brings out the best in both of them, making for two hard-hitting tracks of tough, polyrhythmic UK bass. A-side ‘Second Freeze’ wastes no time setting up the mood with offbeat drum hits and a synth element that sounds more like a transmission from outer space. B-side ‘Simple As’ relies on a snare substitute to keep regular time, letting the kick explore. The only melodic elements in this one are vocal abstractions; the percussion does all the work. For both, while the results are immediate, the builds are deceptively complex.
8/10
