Beaka

UK's Oli Brand, aka Beaka,does not pull any punches for his Infinite Machine debut. With 4 trax of ruffhouse antics, the self-titled "Beaka" EP is an exercise in coaxing out the multilateral efficacy ofUKbass.

"InDisguise" is subversive 4/4 tech-house banger, functional as both set highlight and/or DJ tool, "slow-burning" with urgency via its driving vocal snippet and slithering slabs of acidic bass, before briefly and cunningly exploding into strobing laser madness, only to quickly wrangle us back into the main groove.

"Killjoy" is dubstep-in-beat-only, in the vein of trax by fellow bass luminaries Paleman or Objekt. It features restless percussion skittering around a neck-snapping halftime beat, with grimy square subs billowing from underneath. Dubby chords washes evoke a grey cityscape, while an 808 lead melody raises the contrast and lowers the gamma on that mental picture, resulting in the darkest offering on the release.

"Subconscious" and "Timelapse", on the other hand, while employing similar production mechanics as the previous two trax, go the stop-start garage route, bringing in vocals to convey a different outlook for the monochrome urban aesthetic – a celestial and hopeful one.

Beaka's output is one that is comfortable both in club and in home-listening scenarios, and IM is pround to present a release which so deftly showcases his versatility.