teshno

two minutes in, just as i thought london duo dusky had plateaued after the promise they showed on anjuna deep and then simple, ep opener ‘flo jam’ drops proper and i remember why i admired them in the first place: spacious deep house grooves that just make you want to dance. doing the simple things right, alfie granger-howell and nick harriman don’t necessarily make sounds you’ve never heard before, but they way they do them – with a slightly buffed, brush metal finish – makes even familiar grooves sound great once again. there’s a touch of garage to the duo’s drums and percussion, too, meaning everything feels nicely lubricated and loose, ready to glide you on and on until the lights come up.

the aforementioned opener is a simple, unassuming record with a catchy vocal hook. it’s a nice easy listen, where ‘every day’ is that bit more upright and purposeful. choppy hits cut through huge synth puddles and a chandler-esque kick pushes on throughout, with another cute vocal laced in to give it that bit more oompf. testament to the pair’s studio skills is that every sound is well defined and crisp – kinda refreshing, even though i love knackered house as much as the next man.

‘mystics’ has a touch of grit to it, the grubby bassline scuffing along below big hollow spaces created by more skilful synth work, whilst closer ‘numerical’ tenses further, the liquid depths have gone and now a distant, circling foghorn injects some urgency. it’s techy without sounding like shitty tech house, and closes out the ep on a new high for the pair behind it.

listen/buy it

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