Infernal Sounds are back with their second release, this time pressing weight from Sepia. IFS002 retains some of the elements from Sepia’s previous outing on Gourmet Beats, but brings in another, darker side to his production. Known for his precise, garagey percussions and classic dubstep influences, he combines it with thought-provoking harmonies for the deep heads.
“Laid To Rest” takes us through a spacious, slow paced intro with haunting atmospheric pads repeated throughout the track. Bringing us into empty and cold space, it’s filled with what is Sepia’s strongest point – percussions – this time limited and strict, giving the track a fixed frame and slow, heavy stepping pace. More akin to reflective dubstep from the darker, melodic side, resembling pieces like Kaiju’s “Belcanto” through its stomping, heavy, dark bass contrasted with light, airy highs. Musically, it’s loaded with reminiscence and nostalgia, as reflected by the title. Picturesque, moody and minimal.
The B-side brings us back to the roots of the genre, taking a hat off to DMZ and pioneers who shaped the good-old wobbly sound with sequenced, regular drums, just like when production was limited by time and technology (hence the title “Remember”). This one will definitely get a response from the crowd (as it already has done, having shaken some systems around Bristol, and even very recently dropped in Mala’s set – bigup!). For some, it may sound too close to the originals but on the other hand, why have we ever stopped making it sound like that? We all love it. I personally hope it announces return of the “classic” wave on a large scale.
For those who grab the digital release, Sepia prepared a tasty bonus track. Swinging on a melodic reese bass with lazy, minimal percussions and again ambient, emotive pads, repeating obsessively through the piece. Very textural due to it’s soft percs, with empty and cold, foley-like snare, next to other original sounding layers. “Separation” is definitely aimed at ambient dubstep lovers, and those won’t be disappointed.
IFS002 will be released April 29th and is available to pre-order from the Infernal Sounds Store.
