- "All y'all records sound the same," goes the Dead Prez sample at the heart of "Allyallrecords." It's an accusation that could never be leveled at DVA, one of Hyperdub's most committed innovators. As if to exempt himself from the charge, Scratcha lays down some of his more outlandish ideas on this EP. These four tracks have house tempos, but their freewheeling cross-rhythms borrow something from footwork—albeit pushed to levels of abstraction that few producers would think sensible.
For all that, Allyallrecords feels quite subdued, particularly in comparison to DVA's riotous last two EPs, Mad Hatter and Fly Juice. On "Pink22," weightless triplet beats frame a piece of luminous future-soul. The song is gorgeous, but the vocal delivery from Clara La San is a bit too lacklustre to carry it. (It pales in comparison to, say, Fatima's turn on "Just Vybe.") Mickey Pearce collab "Spoonbender" gives those rhythms a junglist clatter, but feels half-finished, with its janky organ chords wandering out of frame before saying their piece.
Still, DVA just about makes up for these disappointments with sheer inventiveness. The sparse, crisp groove of "Perxoflyf" calls to mind Pearce's Swamp81 crew, though it's their style as you've never quite heard it before. The Addison Groove-featuring title track is the best of the lot, its pistoning percussion splashed with the odd Rhodes chord in a way that recalls A Made Up Sound. The whole exercise is made odder still by DVA's decision to dovetail the first three tracks together, as if we're listening to a mini-mixtape. Whatever format he puts them in, Scratcha's productions continue to surprise and entertain.
TracklistA1 Allyallrecords feat. Addison Groove
A2 Pink22 feat. Clara La San
B1 Spoonbender feat. Mickey Pearce
B2 Perxoflyf