- The most striking thing about Proc Fiskal's debut EP was its speed. Inspired by Novelist's "ruff sound," The Highland Mob accelerated classic grime sounds and motifs by 20-odd BPM, finding a new balance between space and neck-snapping density. There's more to 160 BPM than grime, though. Kode9, who signed the EP to his Hyperdub label, exploits the tempo's ambiguities in his DJ sets, flicking between hip-hop's halftime and the convulsions of footwork and jungle. This EP, for Om Unit's Cosmic Bridge, similarly explores the rhythmic borderzones accessed at the speed. Grime is still present—most obviously on "Window Cat," with its fifths-y melody and minor-key bassline—but other things are, too.
Dub, for one. "A Fragrance" plays with the Stalag Riddim (popularised by tunes like 1985's "Ring The Alarm" by Tenor Saw), tearing gaps in its fabric and teasing them ever wider. On "Who Can't Hear" stomping digidub, complete with offbeat chord skank, tag teams with lush melodies hinting at Proc's love of video game soundtracks. Both have the incision and breathless flow of his earlier tracks, scattering samples across the grid in ever-changing shapes. But they have a new reflective quality, too. The title track reinforces this with the EP's most addictive beat, setting lunging bass stabs against paradiddling snares. It could be fierce, but a melancholy koto keeps things from boiling over.
TracklistA1 A Fragrance
A2 Hello Boss
B1 Who Can't Hear
B2 Window Cat