After his acclaimed releases on Banana Stand Sound and great success with Crucial Recordings, the Afro-Brasillian hunter’s spirit returns with a tasty 4-track. Oxóssi is cutting through the dubstep scene fast with his unique, bright sound sitting between the melodic and the heavy. The “Buried” EP, coming out exclusively on vinyl from Silent Motion Records, proves that wobbles are officially back, represented by new quality and flavour.
The EP starts off with a bipolar piece, teasing us with a light, delicate sound. Echoing with a springy vocal, the ambient, light distant patches drop straight into heavyweight triplet business. The duality of “Rollers” sounds like a romance between Aphex Twin’s and Kahn’s crafts, and with first listen, creates a jaw-dropping effect. Just put it at the start of your set and watch the crowd get stunned. Oxóssi confirmed here that he mastered the art of juxtaposition. A2 is a lazy stepping dub, with edgy, dissonant tones. Swinging on a slow, stumbling broken beat, it once falls to an eerie thriller side, flustered by ominous horns. Rolling on a low, pacing bass, “6 Under” is an uneasy track with an anxious hangover feel to it.
Arguably the most awaited track on the release is “Kadian Dub”, delivering the aforementioned wobbling weight; reminding us that nobody’s ashamed of the strong LFO anymore, especially when coloured with woodwind whistles and gentle percussions. Again, playing on dissonant orchestral tones, “Kadian” puts you in an unsettling space, characteristic for the era of powerful dubstep. “Couch Dub” is a fusion of classic dub elements and nostalgic klezmer sobs, messing around with a peaceful melancholy, all bound together with organ chords and arpeggios to make a flavoursome, not-so-serious piece, evidence of Oxóssi’s versatile and imaginative approach to the genre.
SMV001 serves as a hefty release combining what’s good in the new and old sound, like a bassy kaleidoscope. Each track touches on different inspirations and hails various dubstep contributions; roots, steppers, melodic variations or dark, heavy triplet rollers. Watch out for what’s coming out of this guy’s hands, as there’s plenty more to show and his productivity doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Buried is released June 3rd and available from Unearthed Sounds, Redeye, White Peach and Intense Records.
