- When Shy One debuted on Scratcha DVA's label half a decade ago, she appeared to be one of UK funky's more promising offspring. But the lighthearted tone of her bold ideas made her easy to overlook, and a patchy release schedule hasn't helped her case. Listening to this EP for Japan's Diskotopia, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's been four months, rather than four years, since the Londoner's last proper release. It sounds a little more polished and surefooted, but the premise hasn't changed. She takes funky's bouncy syncopations in a number of intriguing directions—the fact that they are intriguing, still, speaks to Shy One's potential.
"Other Side" contorts and compresses what sounds like a G-funk sample—languid rapping, a high portamento synth lead—which plugs the gaps between a dreamy beginning and a more rambunctious close. Here, as elsewhere, the track's easy mood belies the skill with which it bounces through a multi-part structure. The remaining tracks place soulful chords front and centre. On "Mic Man," they're splurged over a barrelling 4/4, recalling the cartoonish hybrids of Blunted Robots and early Night Slugs. At the other end of the spectrum, "Beans" slows things right down, allowing the densely layered percussion to sway and tease against the pulse. Closer "That Certain Something" splits the difference between the previous two, in terms of both speed and ideas. It's a slightly disappointing closer, if only because we know Shy One has more striking ideas to draw on. Hopefully it won't take her another four years to dig them out.
Tracklist01. Other Side
02. Mic Man
03. Beans
04. That Certain Something