Tim Wright
The RideTim Wright has been working with Mute/Novamute since 2001. He has appeared under an astonishing variety of different guises, which include his techno moniker Tube Jerk (Sativae), and the hip hop outfit New Flesh (Ninja Tune). The Ride is the first single to be released from his forthcoming, as yet untitled, album on Mute and features a remix from one of the undisputed champions of this year, Luciano.
The title track is a logical conference of his previous musical ventures, setting dancehall vocals against solid techno rhythms. Toastie Tailor provides the ragga stylings, Juice Aleem contriubutes a hip hop lick, and Dick Blade lends an elusive reggae refrain. Wright builds the vox nicely around one another, creating a tight verse/chorus/verse form, guaranteed to secure the piece in the collective memory. A heavy two tone bassline, reminiscent of Basement Jaxx's more rinsing work, pins the whole affair down and the mandatory 'head sounds' come courtesy of acid bleeps and snippets. I liked the way that the bassline fills out the bottom end of the track, but also buzzes away in the higher frequencies. It's a shame that Wright doesn't use it more sparingly, bringing it in and out for added impact, rather than letting it run throughout. Overall this track has potential to do serious damage on the dancefloor in the same vein as Super Stylin' or Azzido Da Bass, but it doesn't quite have the attitude to match. If playing out, head straight for the dancefloor mix which adds a frenzied acid intro.
The Luciano version is markedly different in style, and highly successful. Luciano has acquired quite a reputation of late for producing music which is both minimal and rich. His mix is based on an opaque techno groove, reminiscent of Villalobos or Scsi-9, punctuated with filtered-noise and carefully shaped stabs. The brilliance of the tune is in the vibraphone flourishes which he uses to mark out the three distinct sections of the track. They provide poise where the groove gathers new momentum, a highly original way to build. Sonically, these flourishes are from a different universe to the groove which underpins them and they sound brilliantly out of context. The touches of live jazz percussion which he adds later are similarly disorientating. All of this confirms the arrival of a serious talent.
The title track is a logical conference of his previous musical ventures, setting dancehall vocals against solid techno rhythms. Toastie Tailor provides the ragga stylings, Juice Aleem contriubutes a hip hop lick, and Dick Blade lends an elusive reggae refrain. Wright builds the vox nicely around one another, creating a tight verse/chorus/verse form, guaranteed to secure the piece in the collective memory. A heavy two tone bassline, reminiscent of Basement Jaxx's more rinsing work, pins the whole affair down and the mandatory 'head sounds' come courtesy of acid bleeps and snippets. I liked the way that the bassline fills out the bottom end of the track, but also buzzes away in the higher frequencies. It's a shame that Wright doesn't use it more sparingly, bringing it in and out for added impact, rather than letting it run throughout. Overall this track has potential to do serious damage on the dancefloor in the same vein as Super Stylin' or Azzido Da Bass, but it doesn't quite have the attitude to match. If playing out, head straight for the dancefloor mix which adds a frenzied acid intro.
The Luciano version is markedly different in style, and highly successful. Luciano has acquired quite a reputation of late for producing music which is both minimal and rich. His mix is based on an opaque techno groove, reminiscent of Villalobos or Scsi-9, punctuated with filtered-noise and carefully shaped stabs. The brilliance of the tune is in the vibraphone flourishes which he uses to mark out the three distinct sections of the track. They provide poise where the groove gathers new momentum, a highly original way to build. Sonically, these flourishes are from a different universe to the groove which underpins them and they sound brilliantly out of context. The touches of live jazz percussion which he adds later are similarly disorientating. All of this confirms the arrival of a serious talent.
