- Cabin Fever enjoy ambiguity. Though into their fifth year, the Rekids-affiliated imprint has managed to keep a relatively low-profile, leaving people to speculate while letting the music do the talking. For the 30th instalment of their celebrated vinyl-only series, Matt Edwards and James Masters have enlisted the services of yet another anonymous trickster, Edward Mixx.
On first listen, the incongruity of the two tracks is arresting. "Dr. Beat" is a full-frontal slice of '90s techno, capturing (what I imagine to have been) the thrilling cut-and-thrust of a bygone warehouse scene. Hefty 808s are kept tightly in check by a steady furore of slamming claps. True to the period, a single piercing note of acid springs up from the depths, instantly grabbing your attention. Clocking in around 100 BPM, stripped-back drum affair "Olati Beat" is on a completely different tip. That said, Mixx's experimental approach to percussion programming is a continued presence, with a body of shuffling snares, chugging drums and resonant hits forging a swinging strut—a DJ tool for those more bohemian moments.
TracklistA Dr Beat
B Olati Beat