Livewire

For his second outing on Infinite Machine, Rob Burn returns as iO Sounds with fellow Londoner & regular collaborator Lakosa (known as Steffan Smith to his parents) to deliver two fully-primed dancefloor anthems that cleverly straddle the nexus between the demonic bass weight of today's jungle-informed bassline house and the emotive effectiveness of cinematic house. The result is both refreshing and overwhelmingly relevant. The double single starts with the Dirtybird-approved "Livewire" - a bouncy, energetic display of force that has been been making waves over the last year as it circulated heavily through the sets of most every DJ aligned with the bass music community. It's cinematic pads descend into a mean, growling bass line and ascend again and again, threaded together by the fervent, rolling toms and restless drum pattern rotations that outline the song's meticulously robust structure. On the flip we're treated to "Got That Swag," another uncategorizable house derivative packed to the rim with dirty, bass-heavy fury. With nods to fellow UK contemporaries like My Nu Leng and Kry Wolf, the Balearic, somewhat trance-like stabs belie the electrified bass line that enables the song to progressively delve into darker territory as the chopped vocal sample (from which the track derives it's name) fulfills its percussive duty. While more straight-ahead than "Livewire," "Got That Swag" hovers above classification as a DJ tool as both producers execute a strong balance in the voices and maintain their tenacity for rhythmic variation.