- The first ever Heist record to touch 160 BPM.
- Since bursting onto the scene three years ago, Amy Dabbs has carved out a formidable niche. Oscillating between soulful four-four tunes (on labels like Aus Music) and 160 BPM breaks (just check her HÖR set from this summer). But she doesn’t fit solely into either camp—her house has the bass weight of drum & bass and her drum & bass has the elegance of house. Her latest release, Only Breaks Can Love Your Heart, lands on Dam Swindle's Heist Recordings and this alone is testament to her crossover appeal. Over the past ten years, the label has become a go-to outlet for the finest in deeper than deep house, but here Dabbs takes them in a new direction. She offers up Heist’s first ever jungle banger and a surprise UK garage twist from the Dam Swindle boys themselves.
In fact, the Dam Swindle remix of Dabbs's collaboration with vocalist Aika Mal, "Everything Alright," might be the best track on the record. Dabbs's original chops a breakbeat under a ravey arpeggio and chords that swell to the size of a tide pool after a tsunami. Dam Swindle transforms the sweet nothings of the original into a late night booty call. The ping-ponging melody, vocals and lush chords add undertones of romance, but that bassline is ready to skip dinner and head straight to the hotel. It's a great sound for the Dutch duo and makes it feel like they've been eager to pull out their gunfingers for a hot minute.
The rest of the EP flits between house and breaks. Both "Crush" and "Eleven Eleven Twenty Two" are fairly conventional house tunes, with Dabbs nailing Chicago jack on the latter. She finishes with the title track, a jungle tune balanced by piano chords both comforting and wistful, like seeing the first autumn foliage from a speeding train. It's a perfect ending to her best release yet, highlighting how well she can bring together speed and soul.
Tracklist01. Everything Alright feat. Aika Mal
02. Everything Alright feat. Aika Mal (Dam Swindle Remix)
03. Eleven Eleven Twenty Two
04. Crush
05. Only Breaks Can Love Your Heart