- The name says it all.
- Dasha Rush's rich catalogue, both audio and video, presents an open-ended perspective on techno, leaning into industrial sounds as often as cerebral ones. She collaborates with everyone from speed demons AnD (as Attention Deficit Disorder) and the opera singer Alexandra Pyatkova. On her latest EP, Dark & Filthy, Rush goes solo once again for four pounding techno tracks that underline her keen grasp of aggressive techno, but also nod to her sprawling stylistic approach.
Rush sings for the first time on on the opener "El Kinky." It's a straight-up EBM production, complete with the kind of stinging synth line you'd expect from the punk-influenced genre. The sound design is sleek and sultry, and Rush's lyrics, like "Take me now / To the darkness" and "Burn my secrets / Leave me speechless," add a dark, almost romantic atmosphere. It's the most compelling track on the release. But the powerful drums on "Psycho Runner" are loud enough to fill any hole left by a lack of Rush's haunting vocals, finished off by an angry 303 bassline. "Psycho Runner" doesn't explode into a peak-time banger, but the drums alone are enough to rattle any sound system worth its salt.
"Gallic Massage" is spacier, with a pitched-down vocal sample that chugs alongside a hypnotic melody. Rush adds shadowy pads around three minutes in, and then the track ends abruptly instead of giving into the deeper mood, a tantalizing tease of the other side of her music. On "Darkness," we finally hear that side, with muted kick drums and cinematic textures. This is winding, storytelling techno that makes for quite a departure from the rest of the EP. That seemingly contradictory variety is typical Dasha Rush—she knows how to blend esoteric rhythms with the rough and wild.
Tracklist01. El Kinky
02. Psycho Runner
03. Galllic Message
04. Darkness