Label
Local Knowledge
LKX004
- Light, airy and intimate dubstep-techno hybrids
- Introducing his Crack mix this summer, Will Hofbauer explained, "I hope that anyone who listens thinks, 'Hey that was kinda weird at times, but yeah, I'd be keen to hear something like that in a club.'" This sentiment also applies to his productions, where he uses the building blocks of UK bass and techno—but you've got to squint to find them. "Giraffes," the lead single from his latest EP, is the perfect case study. Putting aside the glittering '80s synth pop riff that crescendos across the top, everything else feels microscopic. The drums are so faint they feel translucent and when the bass drops two minutes in, it's like Skream's "In For the Kill" remix being played in Lilliput (the miniature fantasy world in Gulliver's Travels). It's got that dubstep womp, but the scale is compressed and the machismo hollowed out.
The other two tracks on LKX004 are just as eccentric. "Stickers"—by Hofbauer's standards, anyways—is a straight-up banger with a driving bassline underneath neon synth lines that brighten up the stereo field like the Las Vegas strip coming to life at night. It's techno, but has the slightest hint of reggaeton in its swung beat, like Facta and Nick León teaming up. The closer "Opabinia" is the record's most skeletal and minimal tune. Layers of hand drums and rapid-fire sub pulses slither beneath a twinkling xylophone arpeggio and cinematic chords.
Hofbauer's last EP came out on Facta and K-LONE's label Wisdom Teeth. It's worth mentioning as he belongs to a growing cohort of producers circling the label—think Salamanda and Tristan Arp—who are creating a new style of club music that emphasizes whimsy as much as rhythm. What makes Hofbauer's music unique is this micro-world is deep devotion to the low-end. These are quirky and wondrous dubstep-techno hybrids that you could also put on at a dinner party.
Tracklist01. Giraffes
02. Stickers
03. Opabinia