- Leave it to a record label owned by a journalist and a producer who remembers all too well the glory days of the early '90s when techfunk seemed like where it was indeed "at" to release an homage to DJ Duke. In a year that has seen the reissue culture of electronic music reach rock music proportions, though, it seems appropriate, no? After all, Radio Slave was the guy that released the first 12-inch on the renewed R&S label. And if you take a quick look at the Red Bull Music Academy video archives, there's Running Back head Gerd Janson chatting up dance music legends, getting them to open up about how it was all better back in the day. (The day when artists presumably put minute-long "Siren FX 2 Reverse" cuts on their 12-inches.)
Listening to Slave's newest, it's hard to argue. "RJ" sounds similar in tone to his EP for R&S in that it doesn't do much of anything at all—and does it incredibly well. For more than nine minutes, we get something on the order of five to ten notes of melody played out in synth stabs—punctuated by a blast that nestles itself between the 4 and the 1—all buoyed by an unyielding kick drum. Hear it at home and you'll be punching your neighbor when they come to your door, hear it at a club and you'll be punching the air. "Ego Trippin'" is more of the same, although a bit more on the funky side of things. The riff around which the whole thing revolves is more ebullient and more rare and will fit nicely between "Da Pitch Is Wild" and "I'm Simeon, Dammit" at your next warehouse party.
Tracklist A RJ
B1 Ego Trippin'
B2 Siren FX 1 Reverse
B3 Siren FX 1
B4 Streets of Fire FX
B5 Siren FX 1 Reverse
B6 Siren FX 2
B7 Streets of Rain FX