Raw M.T. - Raw Music Theory

Label: Wicked Bass

While it may have started in 2011, it was around a year ago that Kiev’s Wicked Bass imprint really started coming into its own. Honing in on lofi house and techno which didn’t sacrifice its dancefloor edge, the label was responsible for breaking two of our favourite recent artists: Huerco S on the No Jack EP and Innershades with his ghetto anthem That Girl. Both artists have gone from success to success, Huerco with his recent Colonial Patterns LP and Innershades on his delectable new EP for Crème, so when Wicked Bass turned up with another fresh face, Italian newcomer Raw M.T., we were listening – and weren’t disappointed. Raw Music Theory is a storming EP from start to finish, with two excellent original cuts and a pair of remixes by rising star Greg Beato.

 

Walkman Is Dead / Greg Beato Trippinn Remix / Sara / Greg Beato Remix

Despite the rising hype status of his remixer, Raw M.T.’s tracks more than hold their own across the release. Opener Walkman Is Dead comes into view with nervy synthwork, rattling hi-hats and a shattering stomp, and it makes quite an impact. The raw dancefloor potential is undeniable, but there’s real class to the composition, from the metallic percussion that accents the kick to the scorching acid line which ebbs and flows across the course of the track. Yet Mr M.T. is not content with a weaker rehash on the B-side: instead we get Sara, a graceful number where jelly-synths play delicately across the twitching percussive field. It’s an understated number, brimming with melancholic optimism, but pays off blissfully in its closing minutes, as a soaring melody brings the tune to a close with a trace of hope.

Wicked Bass’ A&R department must have been working overtime to secure both an eminently talented newcomer and a remixer as hotly-tipped as Greg Beato. Off the back of recent EPs on Funkineven's Apron, L.I.E.S and those weird Russian Torrent EPs, the Miami-based producer has come into view with a dark, brutalist sound entirely his own. His ‘Trippinn Remix’ of Walkman Is Dead hollows out the track’s core, swapping polish for grit with unsettling distorted synth tones and half-heard whispers. It’s not a comfortable listen but it’s a strong sound, setting the stage for his superior rework of B-side Sara. On this final cut Beato straightens the original’s fluttering melodies over a shattering kick, as metronomic hi-hats keep pace over a psychedelic breakdown. It’s so rare that a package’s remixes and originals are all of superb quality, but the consistency here can’t be faulted: Wicked Bass have scored another winner, and we’re eager to hear whatever they come out with next.

8.5/10