Stopmakingme is really living the life right now – he must be, otherwise I can’t explain how he keeps churning out impeccable tracks, remixes and mixes. On the back of his Wrapped In Plastic release for Kill Em All last year, his scat-heavy remix of Hercules and Love Affair and his genre-gliding, inspirational Dollars to Pounds mix for The Fader, he’s just about to release the Rattle EP for Bang Gang. Title track Rattle is an overwhelming melange of percussion, reminiscent of a more frenzied version of Chicken Lips’ He Not In, primed and ready for dancefloors in 2k11.
Smint, which is as fresh as the title suggests, is built around a series of simple loops, and the robotic evocation of MJ really brings a smile to my face. The percussion break about two and a half minutes in grooves hard before drifting off to make way for an acid bass bomb, only to build right back up again. Peep the suitably retro video. After all that energy, Tempo takes things down a notch, with an almost-abstract take on down-tempo acid funk. That is until the relentless high-hats kick in and you’re left waiting for it to take off into d’n’b territory – it doesn’t, but I anticipate some DIY refixers taking this into their own hands.
If that wasn’t enough, on top of all these, there are remixes to come from In Flagranti, Remute and Bumblebeez. Some package eh. I’ve been thinking for some time that if anyone deserves to be an out-and-out star this year it’s this guy, but if that doesn’t happen, well let’s just hope he keeps doing what he’s doing so we can all enjoy it for ourselves. I’m certainly not going to shut up about him.
Wow ‘Tempo’ is great!