- From "speed dembow" to steely techno, the latest TraTraTrax release has it all.
- Putting out the first TraTraTrax release of 2023 after the Colombian label's defining last year would be a hard task for anyone, but Chile-born, New York-based Tomás Urquieta takes the challenge in stride. 32 Balas means 32 bullets, which gives you an idea of what's in store: this is tough, steely stuff that hits hard anf fast. The title track is pounding techno reinforced with layer upon layer of metal—and a breakbeat in there somewhere—but the high-pitched arpeggio and bright melody add an almost minty fresh quality. The other original cut, "32 Balas," is much weirder. It starts off sounding a bit like a Metro Boomin instrumental, until the heaving, glitchy rhythm stumbles in alongside a garbled vocal sample. None of these elements move in time with each other, and the drums drop in and out. This is pure, gleeful chaos.
The remixes add a certain heft to the EP, no mere add-ons. re:ni turns "vaya pues" into bottom-heavy broken techno that sleuths like a stalking predator. It's not quite as hectic as the original but carries its penchant for randomness, samples and sounds splattering all over like a 3D Jackson Pollock painting. Rhyw—who himself had one of the biggest tracks of last year—fashions "32 Balas" into one of his texturally trippy broken techno tracks, while Siu Mata and Amor Satyr bring the real TraTraTrax flavour, knocking a dembow-like swing into "32 Balas" and notching the speed right up until it's limping at 120 miles per hour. There's something thrilling and almost dangerous about the way it hurtles, rounding off another strong package from one of the labels at the forefront of underground dance music today.
Tracklist01. 32 Balas
02. vaya pues
03. 32 Balas (Rhyw's Double Dribble Remix)
04. vaya pues (re:ni Pot Belly Remix)
05. 32 Balas (Siu Mata & Amor Satyr Remix)