D'Marc Cantu - Decay / Rival

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  • 2014 was an especially prolific year for Ann Arbor's D'Marc Cantu, and the breakneck pace seems well suited to his sound. Raw, to-the-point and effective, his tracks bear the sort of creative spark that doesn't sound labored over. "Rival," one of the cuts on his first 12-inch of 2015, is apparently just that: Cantu got Korg's Volca Beats drum machine and knocked out the track in a day. It sounds like a guy having a blast with a new toy—Cantu gives each element of his drum groove some time in the spotlight, and at one point he rides the tempo knob from ridiculously fast to the lethargic shuffle that finishes the track. "Decay" is more polished and catchier, built around the sort of squelchy, hummable bassline Cantu writes so well. The track is lean, with just a few scratchy drum sounds and a brief countermelody filling out the arrangement. Unfortunately this economy leaves "Decay" a little limp as it winds down—by the time the bassline and drums switch up slightly the groove seems to have run its course. These aren't Cantu's best tracks, and the release feels a bit less than essential—dig into his work with Tadd Mullinax as 2 AM/FM or his solo records on Crème Organization and M>O>S to hear him at his best—but they show an artist who's admirably in thrall of his machines.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Decay B1 Rival
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