- Though Lit City Trax got its start with streamlined footwork from Rashad and Spinn, over time they've started to connect the dots between disparate genres, like Uniiqu3's jersey club or Visionist's weightless grime. Their latest release, from Brooklyn newcomer Durban, carries that torch, as trap aesthetics collide with jungle on a promising six-track debut.
Durban's soundscapes are chilly and desolate, like Southern rap stripped to its core. The title track, an assertive trap cut where the hi-hats slither through the bars, practically gives off carbon dioxide vapours, while "Dirt" holds back, carefully twisting a sci-fi synth riff around a dubstep rhythm. Restraint is the most obvious quality of Durban's music—there's a sense that he's controlling everything meticulously. The grime-trap hybrid "Spirals" isn't much for subtlety, however, with cheap MIDI instrumentation that sounds like it was lifted off some worn-out dubplate.
The up-tempo numbers are even more interesting, like the space-age footwork and floating bass jabs of "32 Seconds," or the old-school breaks of "Linear Pulses," with loose reese basslines rocketing back and forth. The slowed-down jungle breaks on "Deep Blue" take the cake, however—the thrill is in how they patiently hit with each bar, perfectly controlled and stable.
Tracklist01. Deep Blue
02. Chimes
03. Dirt
04. 32 Seconds
05. Spirals
06. Linear Pulse