Brackles - Skank

  • Share
  • Though his reputation as a virtuoso DJ and longstanding Rinse FM host remained undimmed, in the past two years Brackles appeared to all but abandon production. Perhaps he lost enthusiasm following the muted reception to his 2012 Rinse Presents LP, whose pop-wise vision for UK funky, while excellent, seemed just a little out of step with the times. In any case, "Skank," his first release of 2014, shows us what we've been missing. It's classic Brackles in its wit, compactness and razor sharp hooks, and also in its disregard for trends, its loping halftime rhythm and palpating bassline that recalls, if anything, dubstep. MC Fox, resident at the Swing Ting party whose label this single inaugurates, is the icing on an already formidable cake. His lightning-speed chatter supplies a whole other layer of dynamism, as well as a killer chorus whose titular command is nigh on impossible to resist. Elsewhere, Murlo collaborator Famous Eno fiddles with a few different beat patterns in his thoughtful re-working, which seems to be constantly building to an impact moment that never quite arrives (at least it provides the space to enjoy Fox's vocal in its full glory). Brackles rounds things off with "Carbon," a slower track that explores similar rhythmic patterns around 115 BPM. It's solid, but the feel is of an instrumental waiting for its vocalist—and, as experience has taught us, Brackles' vocalists rarely disappoint.
  • Tracklist
      01. Skank feat. Fox 02. Skank feat. Trigganom (Famous Eno Remix) 03. Carbon
RA