- Like most people, the first I heard of UK producer Beneath was his stunning FACT mix from earlier this year, a frigid stroll through seductive syncopation. After two solid EPs on his own No Symbols imprint, he makes a rather fitting move to Martin Clark's Keysound with the stunning Illusions EP.
Opener "Prangin" sets the nervy mood, teetering a brisk break on hand percussion and long-winded metal creaks. His percussion is so layered that it's hard to trace out where one bar ends and another begins. Most of the tracks here pit that shivering shuffle against a central melodic element, like the dulcet chimes in "Blonde" or the shifty piano in "Wonz."
What makes Walker so fascinating is how tightly coiled his music is; he surrounds the core of existential dread with a gauntlet of complex aggression. It's channeling the same angst as dubstep, but in a much more compact and indirect way. That's why it's all the more brilliant when the precision finally crumbles and the title track reduces itself to shimmering atmospherics. Meanwhile, "Tribulation" emphasizes the exoticism of his music, a track that calls to mind LHF, with its smoky corridors and Middle Eastern melodies.
The best track doesn't even fully belong to Walker, yet it's his unmistakable footprint that makes his rework of Ballistiq Beats' "Concrete Jungle" so strong. The original was spacious, but Walker takes the urban dread of the lyrics literally, tightening it into a rhythmic labyrinth of steel girders. In "Concrete Jungle" there's a sense of fight-or-flight urgency that's been lacking from a lot of UK dance music. It tops off a strong EP with a note of hunger and conviction, and marks out Beneath as a refreshing new voice on the UK scene.
Tracklist A1 Beneath - Prangin
B1 Beneath - Blonde
B2 Beneath - Wonz
C1 Beneath - Illusion
D1 Beneath - Tribulation
D2 Balistiq - Concrete Jungle (Yardman Riddim feat. Jamakabi) (Beneath's 350 Remix)