- "Is this still that same track?" is a perfectly legitimate question to ask of a Radio Slave 12-inch. Matt Edwards' techno guise tends to go extra-long, in commitment to—hmmm. Taking us on a journey? Value for dollar? Wringing the largest number of possibilities out of a simple groove? Self-indulgence? EastWest brings us closer to a yes on all of the above: Edwards indulges himself with a real sense of purpose, and everything happening in one minute isn't guaranteed to be happening the next.
"Let It Rain" is one of Edwards' boldest moves yet. It's clearly the spawn of "Throw," as so many records are, in this case both for its expansive length (12:15) and the fact that it's a hard, conga-laced house thump with a spacious delicacy about it; not to mention that woman crying "Ooooohhh-aaaaahhhh" in the middle of it all. It's just enough of a touch to trigger the memory banks while playing as its own thing. As the track progresses, it gets dubbier and techier, as the kick drum is suddenly double-tracked for a little while here or the word "rain" is abstracted into hissy texture, like its namesake on a windshield.
"Suffa Groove," the B-side, is 11:36 its own self, and rather than unfolding a long line and bringing in events like clockwork, this one is more of an exegesis on a loop. It's a good one, too, folding in gospelly vocal snips ("Woo-hoo!" and something that sounds like "grave"), itchy disco guitar and steady piano as the disco pulse moves in and out of the center. Edwards treats it all to loads of filtering, done with a steady hand and a sense of ease that lets him get away with keeping our attention so long.
Tracklist A Let It Rain
B Suffa Groove