Alex Smoke – Dust
Vinyl – Digital
R&S Records / Released September 2013
In many ways it’s surprising we haven’t asked what an Alex Smoke record would sound like on R&S, before this three-tracker dropped onto the welcome mat. After all, producer and label have so much in common, when you consider this is the first time the twain have formally met it is a little surprising.
The record certainly feels as one might imagine. There’s a ruthless edginess in there, certainly on Tessela’s version of Dust, that nods to a forward thinking experimentalism both R&S, the remixer, and man responsible for these tunes have in common- here meeting at a sound that owes as much to rave, jungle, and drum ‘n’ bass as anything else. Meanwhile, its source material sits somewhere between Ellen Allien, post-dubstep and Smoke’s haunting, distorted and mildly unnerving qualities, all moody vocals, atmosphere and suspense. Add to this the slow-burning uplift of Ruction (Dub), a tune that’s got mid-set moment written all over it (gradually building on its loose broken percussion to create a beautiful harmonious affair), and we’re already first in line for the next release.
