bass clef

Zamyatin Tapes Vol. 2 (Upfront White Labels)

Ahh yes, more towering BASS madness from Ralph Cumbers and his Bass Clef, here transmitting the second upfront instalment in the brilliantly maladjusted Zamyatin Tapes series. "1471" spans the a-side and is just immense, a fragmented 8-bit crescendo dominating proceedings with a rugged one-note bassline oscillating in a dancehall style, engineered and honed for the darkest corners of the dance. Utterly awesome stuff. "The Ballad Of The Broken" opens the flipside with a modified acrade-game steppa, with the esoteric sound palette once again leaving itself open to colours and flavours most producers on this scene wouldn't touch with a bargepole - and it's so much better for it. The album's "Eight Zero Eight" closes proceedings with a B-Boy stance, the carefully spaced-out snares doing their thing cleverly with some emotive chord changes and an all-pervading sense of space for company. Brilliant twelve - limited upfront copies!