- On Hessle Audio's 116 & Rising compilation, I wrote that Randomer "out-Blawan'd Blawan" with the outrageous percussive swagger of "Brunk." Well, with his debut on Numbers, he's kind of doing it again. On first inspection "Real Talk" has a lot of the same elements that either made or broke Blawan's "What You Do With What You Have" (depending on your perspective): heavy percussion forcefully nailed down into a house pattern, pitched-down vocal samples and a down-and-dirty bassline that borders on acid territory. It's almost a little too familiar. But whether it's the kinda-hilarious vocal sample ("that's! real! talk!") or the way he works in hi-hats that defiantly swim against the current, something about "Real Talk" is more powerful, more dynamic and ultimately more convincing.
"Lime Pie" is admittedly a carbon copy of "Real Talk," as though it's methodically exaggerating every element of the A-side. The drums roll harder in a more complex pattern, all tension and push-and-pull, and that acid bassline goes off the rails, turning the track from an assortment of playful drums into a bulldozer. Walder returns to the staggered stomp he's shown off this year with "Stalker," a quirky collection of odd drums leaving space in all the wrong places. It's like an old Scratcha DVA production dipped into a vat of acid, the singed remnants of a banger. It's no coincidence the description of these tracks has clung to comparisons of other producers: Randomer is a chameleon and he hasn't quite emerged with his own sound yet. For right now, though, that's just fine.
Tracklist A1 Real Talk
A2 Lime Pie
B Stalker