Osiris Music’s sub-label Ruffcut drops its third plate, after stellar releases by label stalwarts like Killawatt’s ‘Killa Dinna’ and Kaiju’s ‘Jam Maker’, 003 finds Send (a new alias by Killawatt and Ipman) going head to head against Gantz in the style of those kaiju movies (you see what I did there?)
When not concocting system destroying steppas or techno-infused dubstep mutants, I imagine Send like a cup of Earl Grey and curl up next to their hardware and make tunes like ‘Moonmen’. While ‘Moonmen’ can be considered dubstep per se, it lacks that aggression and progressive bent that most Killawatt / Ipman tunes usually possess. I dare say ‘Moonmen’ may be the happiest thing Killawatt or Ipman have ever released. An almost minute long intro that washes and submerges you in dub-space builds till a climax that doesn’t exactly fit the mold of dubstep’s ‘tension and release’ format. Constant and steady sub hits make those shoulders jerk while sonar blips spin circles around your head. Trap-like hi hats are interspersed ’til time honored dub techno stabs move things along in a tasteful fashion. While it may not being the most revolutionary or game-changing track that Killawatt / Ipman have produced, it’s a welcome breath of fresh air from a pair of producers that have graced us with some of the most heavy and progressive tunes in recent time.
On the flip, Gantz reconfigures ‘Moonmen’ into something altogether more sinister and vicious. Taking those snippets of sonar blips, Gantz bases his remix around the psychotropic qualities that the blips hold, choosing to extend and loop them until they induce vertigo. Amidst the clouds, Gantz adds some stumbling shakers and other aural ephemera that makes you queasy. Instead of simply making the b-line a few octaves lower, Gantz chooses to completely alter the sub altogether and creates a plummeting behemoth whose b-line goes way, way, way down while an old skool 80’s synth arpeggio rises in video game boss battle mode. Seriously, Gantz is on fire at the moment, get out of the way.
Ruffcut003 may be by Send, but it’s the Gantz rework that outshines the A-side, completely singular and unique. With two already mind-blowing releases under their belt, Ruffcut003 is another great addition to their developing catalogue. Ruffcut is slowly becoming an insta-bag on sight kinda label whose Osiris-signed stalwarts can release tunes that shun their typical aural personae in search for other sonics.
RUFFCUT003 is available to purchase from the Osiris Music Store.
