Dark Arts - Music Down, Bass Up

Hear The Track Here

There isn't a month goes by with me suffering pangs because I bounced on someone's track, and this month it happened to be Sheffield's Solid Sounds turn. Just a couple of days ago I reviewed i'me luvvin you2 (October 2009 drrr) and didn't take to it at all, or much to the original (number 1 as it were) Still, got to say what you think, right? It's by pure chance that Shane Simpson (who happens to be a member of Solid Sounds) batted his eyelids at me a couple of days ago asking me if I could include a new project in the review list if I had enough room. Welp, this is the last of the month so I guess it qualifies...

...and it soothes my middle class guilt.

He probably heard the sigh of relief when I discovered that Dark Arts and Music Down, Bass Up were in business all the way in Sheffield. I would have purely hated to dump on the poor geezer twice in a row. It isn't, by any stretch, anything groundbreaking, just a straightforward slice of electronica dance. You know the kind, the sort that has a kick drum that goes so fast you would swear its ass was on fire. I got involved early on with gabba and if you like that, this well certainly ring some bells. Yes indeed.

There is an old skool energy and style about the track that shows there is a good idea for a sound here but I don't think this fairly basic mix really shows that potential - at least not straight off. Moreover, I'd say if I hadn't already been exposed to a great deal of music of this genre in my murky past, I would have passed this by pretty quick. Truth is though it takes a certain amount of skill to put something like this together, as rough as it is. Sharpen up that sound a tad, work on overall sound levels and something wonderful may happen.

Excellent dance electronica. Recommended.