Appleblim & Al Tourettes | FWD Entertainment

sallman said on Sun, 07/11/2010 - 17:41

Artist: Appleblim & Al Tourettes

Title: Lipsmacker EP

Label: Aus Music

Catalog #: AUS1028

Genre: Techno/Dubstep/House

Release Date: June 28, 2010

Rating: 8

Ahh, summertime EPs. They come with the sun and fill our crates. So everyone gets an EP out to join the frenzy. Which is why many of these seasonal releases fall short of our expectations. Lipsmacker does not. Appleblim and Al Tourettes bring us a potent collection of bass heavy and harmonically molten songs that blend the boundaries of genre expectations.

The title track sets the stage for an EP of techno-tempo dark-house dubstep. A deep kick clicks away the beat as hats tick and knock through the highs. As expected, the featured sound is the rotting bass line which completes the soundscape of textures like sounds found between the lines of code in a computer virus. The bass pulls apart the drums, and as they disintegrate the remnants of human voice and haunting ambient synth pads fill the air. This push and pull builds us towards a large shift when the shaker drops and everything comes back together. Rhythmic consonance at last.

"Mr. Swishy" feels like a more extreme build of "Lipsmacker". The kick is much louder and stutters more frequently. The percussion keeps it grounded as that same human voice bounces around desperately trying to speak. Pads that quickly fall in and out of tune crescendo until the deep bass line begins its counter melody. This bass synthesizer is so deep and dirty it deteriorates the mix, and turns the kick drum around on the beat. Finally, more hats accent the off-beats and the back-beat. "Mr. Swishy" manages to stretch time, the immaculate sequencing makes this one of those songs that feels much faster than its BPM. Perfect for blending dubstep and house.

My favorite remix is the digital only release from Deadboy. He takes "Lipsmacker" and takes it further into dub-techno. The drum and bass combination keeps me feeling the up-beat while snippets of the original voice samples and bass line occasionally accent the space created by this framework. Finally a spilling arpeggio starts pushing the beat forward into the darkness.

Another great release for Aus Music.

-Neil Cline

Tracks:

A1) Lipsmacker

A2) Lipsmacker (Deadboy Remix)

B1) Mr. Swishy

B2) Mr. Swishy (Linkwood Remix)