T Williams EP is the Dubstep Record Of The Month For February 2010. You can read our interview with them here.
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RECORD OF THE MONTH | INTERVIEW: DEEP TEKNOLOGI | INTERVIEW: TERROR DANJAH
On their label’s debut release Reality Check EP, Deep Teknologi’s sound seemed to be mostly steeped in house music, especially on a track like “In Da Groove” with its insistent throb and references to Chicago and the Hyatt Regency. Of course, in the endless melting pot of UK bass music, this easily shades into a more funky-tempered sound, as seen in the Deep Teknologi camp’s latest release. The T Williams EP (by T Williams, one half of the main Deep Teknologi duo) is being released under a new label run out of London’s Phonica Records store, Local Action. Originally set for a February 2010 digital release under Deep Teknologi’s own eponymous label, the fantastic EP is now set for a Spring 2010 physical and digital release as the first single from Local Action, and it’s a mighty coup of a first release.
To put it succinctly, the T Williams EP is astounding. There’s a certain disciplined minimalism at work here, but it’s because he’s honed and pared down his sound to its most overwhelming basic elements, to the point where they just don’t need anything else. The Deep Teknologi aesthetic is peculiar; it’s impossibly glossy, polished, and smooth, and so austere that listening to it is like viewing a particularly impressive exhibit behind glass. Williams eschews heavily manipulated sounds, bass wobbles or obvious futurism for something more organic and universal — he’s not making robotic or artificial dance music, what he does is distinctly human, made by humans for humans. Just as Deep Teknologi’s music is so hard to accurately classify, they’re sure enough to build an equally diverse and unclassifiable fanbase, and the music is imbued with such an urgency and a pounding, tenacious intensity that it’s virtually impossible not to get up and dance, no matter where you are while listening — what more could you ask?
“Anthem” opens with chopped up somethings and wooden percussive heft before a downbeat piano drips in, with shakers that sound mysteriously like cellphone interference. It’s immediately overwhelming, intricate and layered but all in the service of the almighty groove. The melodic hook may be in the keyboards and in the bass, but the real anthem is in what they do with the drums. “Afric” has more of that same hypnotic drum work, incredibly crisp tumbling hits that are always moving forward, but the keys on top are lighter and frothier. It has a sinuous, infectious melody that glides across the rumbling percussive undercarriage as if walking on water. The epic “Flooring” takes its time to build, riding the groove tight and hard before it stumbles into tropical flutterings and rainforest ambience, eventually coming out the other side with fascinating interplay between insistent house kicks and more flexible, limber techno percussion. Like all their tracks, it’s a marvel of drum programming; the beautifully crafted beats are muscular and vital, feeling like a particularly intense and rapid heartbeat beating frantically against the chest, almost visually palpable and certainly difficult to ignore. All told, it’s a brilliant three track EP which manages to infuse the current funky scene with tougher beats and a more propulsive, distinctly house direction. Going by their recent UStream mixes, these guys have great taste and a wealth of amazing material. The T Williams EP makes for a hell of a proper arrival and T Williams and the rest of the Deep Teknologi crew have nowhere to go but up; we’ll be lucky if they let us ride their smooth, perfect percussion on the ascent with them.
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RECORD OF THE MONTH | INTERVIEW: DEEP TEKNOLOGI | INTERVIEW: TERROR DANJAH
