2562 ‘Fever’

2562 / ‘Fever’

CD / Digital

When In Doubt / Released April 4th 2011

Ah, the concept album. Often over-conceptualised, there’s many a package of theoretical arrangements responsible for nightmarish boredom. So, what’s the deal with the latest from Holland’s bass-hero, an LP made entirely from disco samples?

OK, that’s not quite the truth. Said edits have been filtered, spun, rinsed, washed, vacuum packed and, in many cases, spat back out, meaning there’s little here that will remind people of Donna Summer. Still, disappointment to one side, there’s plenty to get the heads bobbing, and not just those recent singles, Aquatic Family Affair and This Is Hardcore, good as they are.

Opening with Winamp Melodrama, you could be mistaken for thinking some mid-90s, UNKLE style hip hop breaks were about to drop, such is the obviously soulful, urban-American nature of the source material. Reversed brass and a staccato, percussive-based hook mark the point at which sounds are most obviously stolen from old recordings, as the following ten tracks do their best to distort beyond recognition.

We then pass through the stripped, slaphappy beats of Cheater, and it’s haunted house atmospheres, Juxtaposed‘s reverberating synths, along with the aforementioned 12″ releases, before happening on Intermission. A strong contender for track of the album, it’s meld of obscure, post-rave vocal stab, filtering hook and off-keys make for a serious eyes to the floor experience that, while not being particularly fast, should enable even the most rhythm-phobic to work up a decent sweat.

By this point if you’re in you’re in, if not no worries… as next up is the glitchy Flavour Park, a track with a ‘chorus’ of obscurely structured drums and a mildly unsettling, submerged melody the likes of which we’ve come to love 2562 for, only this time the accessibility is at an all time low. Needless to say though, he won’t need many new friends once those already converted have had a listen to this new effort.

And even those more inclined to dance to the producer under his techno pseudonym, A Made Up Sound, will find some satisfaction. Both Brazil Dreadwalker and Final Frenzy offer four fours, albeit respectively in stepping, carnival-esque minimalism and industrial edged, unconventionally timed acid. Then, before you know it, we’re back on the programme for the last two tracks, which polish things off in deep, though not too dark fashion. In the case of the final, eponymous workout, when the solid beat finally drops, complete with marching snares and metallic accents, it’s a true highlight of the disc. What’s more, like everything else that comes before, it provides another good reason why the popularity of this post-dubstep sound remains so strong.

 


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