Korma: Springblade/Chain 2.0 single + Skyline EP (Car Crash Set/Ice Rink, 2014)
November 3, 2014 at 12:09 am | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Korma: Springblade/Chain 2.0 single
I can’t say I keep up with grime that much, but there are a few producers who cross my radar who work in that idiom who create interesting sounds. Korma is based in Seattle, but he’s attracted attention from grime DJ’s such as Dusk + Blackdown. The “Springblade” single is the more club-friendly of his two Car Crash Set releases, with both tracks featuring Baltimore-inspired cutup breaks along with grime bass. “Springblade” has snapping camera sounds, while “Chain 2.0” is tougher and has broken glass, sinister melodies and chopped vocal samples. The flanging beats at the end are particularly exciting.
Korma: Skyline EP
Even more exciting, however, is the
Skyline EP, which takes things in a much weirder, less club-friendly direction. “Skyline” starts with sirens and a voice saying “warning”, and you can’t say you weren’t, as all manners of sword-like slashing sounds fly past you, arranged with precision. “Mech” is even crazier, an evil surveillance camera nightmare that makes you feel probed within an inch of your life. It’s so brutal and bludgeoning, but in a fun, enjoyable way. “Hornacek” is a stiff, mechanical droid-battler, with buzzing bass, smashing beats, and not much in the way of melody or emotion, because what good are those for if you’re a destructive robot? “Sky Hook” is another surveillance camera riddim, with beats that roll to the point of sounding like machine gun fire, and more flat yet heavy grime basslines.
The Answer Is In The Beat 
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