- There's no shortage of reasons to respect Andrew Weatherall. There's his acclaimed early remixes of mainstream acts like Happy Mondays and Primal Scream. Then there's his string of excellent Warp releases in the groups The Sabres Of Paradise and Two Lone Swordsmen, plus his 30-odd-year career of defiantly eclectic DJing. Yet few would point to Weatherall's solo productions as the highlight of his career. These experiments in indie and disco rarely stood out, suggesting that Weatherall is at his best when he can bounce his ideas off someone else.
On Kiyadub, his first solo EP under his own name since 2006, Weatherall succeeds by narrowing his focus. He explores a longstanding love of dub on two versions of a single song, moulding rhythm tracks generously adorned with dub effects. "Kiyadub 45" is the slower of the two. Its rolling sub-bass keeps up a constant pressure while heavy reverb and cartoonish effects bring a sense of warmth and fun. Synth stabs gather up the tension like a fist bunching cloth, before releasing it with a pleasing jolt. "Kiyadub 47" has a straighter club structure, bringing up the tempo and cutting the bassline into an unpredictable punch. The balance of heavy club riddims and technicolour effects makes for a nuanced pair of curveballs.
TracklistA Kiyadub 45
B Kiyadub 47