D/R/U/G/S – Elevate
Gosh it’s a long time since we had anything from D/R/U/G/S. Then it was delicate electronics. This time, more dance floor orientated. Free download.
D/R/U/G/S (Callum Wright) is from Manchester via London. The name is still a bit suspect, encouraging all kinds of bad drug puns/references as the blurb below proves. The music is better than that. Elevate is a lovely little ascending set of chords. A bit like Orbital’s Halcyon. With Tyrannosaurus the references are a bit more contemporary but the outcome a bit less successful, as the groove lacks a hook. The EP ends with Gravity Emerged. The last track on an EP is often where the more interesting tracks hang out. And, it’s true here. This is hardly the usual 4/4 beats for 3am sets. It weaves around too much for that. Properly good leftfield spacey dance.
And, the free download is Hyperdream Clap, another with a warped piano line giving it a sense of wonder
Blurb: Getting the balance of drug intake wrong has been the folly of man for centuries. Be them medicinal, intoxicating or performance enhancing, getting that cocktail just right is what doctors, ravers and professional cyclists are all constantly striving for. Admiral Horatio Nelson, arguably the greatest military hero in British history, suffered terribly after an ill-judged medley of opium, rum and gout. It was codeine and burgers that finished off Elvis whilst a suspect combination of acid and crystal meth made that bloke in Florida think that another homeless person’s face would double for a tasty treat. This all rather tenuously brings us round to D/R/U/G/S, aka Manc producer Cal Wright. His dope music (sorry) strikes a masterful balance of space-age electronica, wonderfully expressive melody and a remarkable sense that you’re at Glastonbury, it’s 5am and you’re wearing a very bad hat. His releases on Moshi Moshi and Different have earned him a reputation as one of the most inspired young house producers that this country has spawned of late, with his tracks notching up BBC spins on Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens and Lauren Laverne. Elevate is his first outing on Bad Life; a stimulant, sedative and narcotic all at once which makes us extremely excited to hear his album which is mooted for summer 2013.
ACID TED 