- Young San Francisco imprint Voltaire Records recently released a split 12-inch between Tussle and Publicist, and it perhaps sums up the label's short history even better than their first label comp. SF quartet Tussle offer a new track and remix Publicist, and Publicist offers a new cut himself while remixing Tussle.
Publicist's "Do You Know Who I Am" caught me off guard a few months ago when I heard it in a mix. The alien bassline pulse rolls in macho and chunky (but also incredibly warm and catchy) and is joined by Sebastian Thomson's tight drumming. (No surprise there, considering his day job is the stick man in Trans Am.) His vocoded vocals come in (yes, he's a one-man band who drums, sings, programs), and while Chromeo and other acts have helped remind us how such choices can ring gimmicky, it turns into a blissful, energized curio.
The rest of the release underscores the throughline of the label: live percussion versus analog synths. Publicist's remix of Tussle's "Soft Crush" is a late night yearning warehouse piece of compulsion. Tussle's "Dusty Road" is a Balearic downtempo work of post-industrial sleaze with wailing horns. Their rework of Publicist's "Hand to Mouth" recalls earlier !!! moments, with synth horn stabs over complex percussive arrangements. Above all, this boutique brand is difficult to distill, a credit to the creators, who are maybe cross-coast cousins to Future Times, as they share a pan kraut-house-balearo-boogie-bizarro anything goes mentality, as long as it's cooked from scratch.
Tracklist A1 Tussle - Durty Roads (Tenderloin Special)
A2 Publicist - Hand To Mouth (Tussle Remix)
B1 Publicist - Do You Know Who I Am
B2 Tussle - Soft Crush (Publicist Remix)