There’s no questioning that Gerry Read made quite a stir last year with releases on Fourth Wave and 2nd Drop, which received acclaim across the genre spectrum. Read will delve further into the rugged, lo-fi house sounds he has become known for with an album due out later this year, but those plans haven’t stopped him from putting out dance floor killers; on the contrary his new Yeh Come Dance EP may be his most concise release to date. All four tracks are awash in his usual sounds, distinctive hi hats and translucent low-ends.
Read’s drums have a tendency to sound like he has an actual drummer in a booth, playing continuously, as he brings elements in and out. “Yeh Come Dance” displays this natural flow; loosely held together, every hit feels as though it could be the last before it all comes spiraling down. Helping keep everything together is a filtered repetitive vocal, which adds to its odd rhythm. “Crawlspace” is a bit harsher and sounds as if it is run through a terrible tape recorder; the effect is rather nice. Once again an unusually rough, but transparent low-end runs through the track, with indistinguishable vocals playing alongside it. Midway through pads seesaw their way into the mix and help bring the track to an end. A mutated Chicago track is what comes to mind after hearing “Bozza”; it’s as if Dance Mania and Hessle Audio had a child. Not too much changes in the track, it sort of hums along for six minutes and sounds like a live loop edit, every so often something similar to a guitar is played and a weird pad or sample is thrown in. “Crooked” has an amazing build that brings the energy level to critical mass before a slight dip and release. Underneath frantic hi hats and a lead vocal sample is another distorted vocal, along with a slight melody. Again you can hear Read’s subtle filtering as well as weird static bits and pieces. The EP screams of someone who’s becoming very comfortable in his sound, but not sitting idly by churning out the same nonsense. Gerry Read is one of the many exciting producers coming out the UK at the moment and this year could easily be his breakout year.
Gerry Read’s “Yeh Come Dance” EP is out now on Delsin Records.
