- Matthew Watt has made a surprisingly smooth transition from dubstep to techno. Finding a middle ground between dark dubstep and the harder strains of 4/4, he's arrived at a brand of techno reinforced with the growling basslines and womping drums of his early work. After experimenting with techno on releases for Tempa, Derelicht and Osiris Music UK, Watt makes his solo debut on Tommy Four Seven's 47 label with 47010, his first record on a straight-up techno label. It's one of his more confident EPs and features two of his most punishing tracks yet.
The EP's highlight, "Mate Choice," has a nimble but heavy broken-beat pattern that feels like cinder blocks being juggled. Once Watt intensifies the kick for the second half, you might be headbanging. "Meiotic Drive" is another beast, with a drum break that feels like it's swimming against the current. It could overshadow everything else in the mix, but Watt never lets that happen. As big and lumbering as it can be, his music is rarely overbearing.
The other cuts are more subtle bulldozers. "Base Analogs," which looks to the abstract techno of the Horo label, is all about thick textures and dubbed-out spatial effects. The patient "Allelic Drift" features a droning, shoegaze-like lead. They're two of Watt's most straightforward techno tunes, and a little less exciting than their counterparts. Watt's techno hits the hardest when he uses ideas from his past.
TracklistA1 Meiotic Drive
A2 Mate Choice
B1 Base Analogs
B2 Allelic Drift