Review: SBTRKT 'SBTRKT'

SBTRKT
SBTRKT
[Young Turks]

Finally there's good reason to get excited about pop music again. Well, some pop music, anyway. While many may argue, suggesting "post-dubstep" is a more accurate term to apply to the subject of this review; modern pop music is exactly what SBTRKT has aimed for on his self-titled debut, for Young Turks (home to other notable sound-of-nowsters, The xx). By and large he succeeds. Admirably, even. Unlike contemporaries and closest comparisons James Blake and Jamie Woon, SBTRKT aka Aaron Jerome (who had a handful of releases under his own name on WahWah45s some time ago) is undeniably accessible, with tracks like Pharoahs (which out-Basement Jaxx's Basement Jaxx) and the just-wobbly-enough Wildfire (featuring typically outstanding vocals from Little Dragon's Yukumi Nagano) far more digestible than anything from his peers' recent efforts (as excellent as they both are). The key difference is that Jerome makes room for his guest vocalists (also including Sampha, Roses Gabor and Jessie Ware) among his intricate arrangements, with the skittering, Timbaland-for-2011 beats only one part of the whole picture. With hints of dubstep and garage among these glitchy-yet-soulful grooves, SBTRKT has found a winning formula - and a label - which bodes well for the future of pop music.

4 stars from 5

Check out more from SBTRKT here...

Review: Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX 'We're New Here'

GIL SCOTT-HERON & JAMIE XX
'We're New Here'
[XL/Young Turks]

We've every right to be dubious when labels pair up hip, young zeitgeist producers with respected, legendary older artists, particularly thanks to the recent release of a few disappointing collaborative efforts (did some mention Jack White and Wanda Jackson?). We're New Here is different. How? For a start, this is a remix album. Then there's the source material: living-legend Gil Scott-Heron's 2010 epic/comeback, I'm New Here. Young Jamie Smith (drummer/producer for world-conquering UK indie three-piece The XX) has completely reworked thirteen tracks from the original album sessions, placing Scott-Heron's disembodied vocals amongst pulsing, spidery soundscapes. While sounding excitingly modern, like Burial or James Blake, We're New Here is endearingly reverent, even adding a degree of warmth to the intentionally deep, dark originals. Smith also samples snatches of vocals from Scott-Heron's work in generations past, providing for some kind of deep, philosophical inter-generational link. Whatever. This is proper dance music, 2011-style.

4/5 stars

Review reprinted courtesy of Waikato Times