Manchester native Alex Coulton has nurtured a reputation for creating sub-heavy rollers thanks to 12”s for the likes of Black Acre, Livity Sound and Bloc. With Gamma Ray Burst, the next in his series of releases on London low-end specialists Tempa, Coulton consolidates his sound to deliver some of the most sparse, rhythmic work of his career. With the record’s title track, Coulton weaves from hard-hitting kicks, through to dizzying tribal polyrhythms the whole time maintaining a minimal, space driven atmosphere that remains omnipresent throughout the track’s most intense moments. ‘Ground Zero’ revels in its spaciousness, allowing reverb to flood into the negative space between flashes of heavyweight techno percussion and saturated ripples of synth while the pulsating kicks that underpin ‘Alpha Decay’ are punctuated with bleak, discordant bells, rhythmic bass hits and hypnotic filtered percussion. Showing his diverse abilities, ‘Phase Two’ is an exercise in measured restraint, as a cacophony of clicks and hisses come together to disorientate before forming a driving rhythm section before Coulton maximises his expansive elements on the fog-tinged ‘Ascent’. Closing with the steady flowing, brighter-hued melodic work of ‘Distant Resonance’, Alex Coulton has created a masterful collection of experimental tech-focused electronica that bewilders, intrigues and will draw the listener in with each play.
Audio coming soon.
a1. Gamma Ray Burst b1. Ground Zero b2. Alpha Decay c1. Phase Two d1. Ascent d2. Distant Resonance
An integral part of the label from it’s early days, Youngsta has been involved in the direction and curation of Tempa's output for many years from its days of signing artists like Skream and Benga to ushering in a new sonic territories from the likes of Hodge, Alex Coulton and Markee Ledge. As he moves more into the world of music production it would be a natural progression for him to release on the label. Each 12” on Tempa from Youngsta has always explored new and different sound palettes for him and this time is no different. Working with a new partner, Cimm, their unique take on music at 140bpm is the result The 12” leads off with Split Minds — a combination of distorted 808’s and Sub Bass, and nimble percussion work fuels the track’s half-time stomp. On the B-side, the minimal Redshift focuses on atmospherics and trickles and hints of melodies. Building slowly over waves of sub bass, vocal snippets weave in and out of the track creating a sense of space and clarity. Each sound is given ample room to breathe, guaranteeing maximum sound system pressure.
Next on Tempa comes the label’s landmark 100th release -- a double pack of essential classics to mark the occasion.
Founded in London in 2000, Tempa swiftly evolved to become one of the most vital and influential labels in the last 15 years of UK dance music. At the epicentre of dubstep as it evolved from a mutant offshoot of garage into it's own unique scene and sound, Tempa has fostered many of the genre’s best-known names and some of its most powerful.. So for their 100th release, they’re marking that legacy by casting an ear back into their rich archives. Across two 12”s they’re re-pressing a selection of pivotal tracks from Horsepower, Skream, Digital Mystikz, Benga & Coki, DJ Abstract and SP:MC, which together chart the history of dubstep’s emergence. Tempa100’s first disc gathers together the heady, dark percussive sounds of the genre’s early years, rich in smoky atmosphere. It opens with a track from the very first Tempa 12", the slinkily robotic freakout of Horsepower Production’s ‘When You Hold Me’, before drifting through DJ Abstract’s humid and romantic ‘Touch’, High Plains Drifter’s ‘Sholay (Epic Mix)’ and Digital Mystikz’s ultra stripped-back early roller ‘Give Jah Glory’. The second plate ups the ante with a clutch of dubstep’s most iconic dancefloor bruisers — Skream’s seminal ‘Midnight Request Line’, Benga & Coki’s anthemic ‘Night’, the cybernetic halfstep of SP:MC’s ‘Trust Nobody’ and the dub disorientation of Coki’s ‘Tortured’. Just as powerful as when they were first released, the music on Tempa100 is both a celebration and a reminder of the label’s ten-tons-heavy contribution to UK music history.
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