- Billed as Night Slugs' transatlantic sibling, the Fade To Mind label and "movement" will be spearheaded by its Brooklyn-based member Kingdom and crew of likeminded artists all peddling a similar series of club nights, projects and apparel alongside releases from US mongrel dance acts such as DJ MikeQ and Nguzunguzu. Setting the wheels in motion is a three track and remix package from the latter—an LA duo consisting of Daniel Pineda and Asma Maroof.
Timesupis the pair's third EP following on from Mirage and their eponymous debut release. Launching with a collection of doomy footwork, their second effort gravitated towards the Night Slugs mode of bass house, with this one edging even closer: Opener "Timesup" begins in a somewhat over-dramatic fashion with a twinkly clock-is-ticking key stamp before comic knife swipe samples unleash the track's layers of throb and jukey elements. But instead of feeling menacing a sardonic air prevails, causing that track to fall flat."Water Bass Power" and "Wake Sleep" offer slightly different variants of the prescribed tumult of percussion, nestled in a bed of deep rolling bass, but all the melancholic synth work and ominous foot-infused subscapes sound too much like Girl Unit's Wut and I.R.L.EPs, causing Timesup overall to sound more Night Slugs than Nguzunguzu.
Kingdom's remix of "Timesup" adds a signature R&B vocal, sweeping it off its Chicago feet and transforming it into a lamenting urban ballad, but its Total Freedom's contribution that is the standout. The friendliest of the floor-fillers, he adds an intriguing dose of dark Shackleton-like minimalism to an otherwise too easily forgotten EP.
Tracklist 01. Timesup
02. Water Bass Power
03. Wake Sleep
04. Timesup (Kingdom Remix)
05. Wake Sleep (Total Freedom Winter Park Homicide Edition)