- Hessle Audio taps one of the most exciting producers in club music for a match made in heaven.
- The gradual branching out of Hessle Audio has been wonderful to see, with artists like Anz, Shanti Celeste and Shelley Parker invited to put their own spin on the influential label's leftfield broken beat sound. Add on banner releases from cofounders Pangaea and Pearson Sound in the last year, and it's clear the label has started a hot streak not seen for years. The momentum continues into 2023 with the debut from Toumba, a Jordanian producer who blends ideas and influences from his home country so seamlessly you hardly notice how genius it is until you listen closely.
The title track is a great example. On first listen, its tumbling swing rhythm sounds kind of like UK funky and there's no doubt that DJs drawn to that style could easily fit it in a set. But it's actually based off South Jordanian dance music. Listen carefully and you can hear how the swing is off slightly, the snares hitting in odd places, similar like J Dilla's kick drums in hip-hop. Built around a heavily manipulated lead melody, you could even call it catchy. "Istibtan" is meant as a take on a traditional wedding song, but its bassy heave-ho and sonar-ping chords are Hessle Audio through-and-through, adorned with hand drums that slip across the surface like an expert figure skater.
The push-and-pull between melody is another hallmark of Toumba's music, which rarely does too much at once. "Hazzeh" features the EP's juiciest hook, but it surfaces between gulfs of minimalist rhythm sections that play on dabkeh, a musical form that should be familiar to fans of DJ Plead. That leaves "Identity Crisis," a track of oddly staggered rhythms and microtonal melodies that resolve in unexpected ways. These hit in-between notes that would sound almost cutesy if it weren't for the massive slabs of sub-bass. A Hessle Audio debut EP is probably a dream for most producers, but in this case, I'd say the label is lucky to have Toumba, one of the club scene's most creative young artists.