- Levon Vincent's name may not be well-known at the moment, but give it a little bit of time: Jus-Ed, Marcel Dettmann and others have been relentlessly pushing his excellent recent work on Novel Sound and, now, Deconstruct Music in their sets—a sign that after many years of hard work in the trenches of underground New York house music that his time may finally be upon us.
Ed and Dettmann are unlikely co-supporters, but Vincent's debut on Deconstruct is a prime example of why the producer's music works for both. "Invisible Bitchslap" is nominally restrained in its 120 BPM plod, building momentum like a steam engine, with hissy hi-hats finding their way beneath the pounding syncopated beat. Vincent drops in dub clouds halfway in, and it's at this moment that his MO is clear: This is overwhelming dub house, music that creeps up on you and—before you realize it—completely envelops you in its clutches.
"Woman Is the Devil" works similarly, taking 12 minutes to unfold its magic. Like its companion on the flip, the rhythm relies on a hypnotic repetition to pull you in, and then adds in "Tour De France"-esque breathing and other assorted sonic detritus to make sure you're still paying attention. Ed uses it slowly, taking advantage of the epic groove that Vincent builds, while Dettmann piles other dub(step)-inspired techno around it quickly and seamlessly. I use it as background music around the home. All three seem to work pretty much brilliantly.
TracklistA Invisible Bitchslap
B Woman Is The Devil