[!K7 Records]

DJ mix CDs are a funny thing sometimes. In theory they’re supposed to showcase a DJ’s mixing skills and present a set of music that motivates listeners to check out where the music comes from. Brackles first mix compilation, Songs For Endless Cities seems to heavily favor the discovery side, although the man born as Rob Kemp is no slouch behind the decks. The selection here is the key, taking in a survey of some of the biggest names in our post-dubstep world of beats. What makes this mix notable is how it melds together a disparate group of fairly well-known tracks and artists into a cohesive compilation. Techno, hip-hop, dubstep and funky all make appearances here and Brackles treats them all the same, creating one groove line throughout the hour.

The patron saint of pretty much all things off-kilter and global in music these days, Flying Lotus, kicks the mix off with a somewhat obscure track, “My Chippy.” The crushing kicks, cracking snares, and bubbling warbles set a sort of mood for what is to follow. Floating Points, Zomby, and Roska take those sharp and angular beats and smooth them out slightly before Brackles and younger brother Martin Kemp swing everything into a funky bridge with Kyle Hall, DJ Dom, and Cooly G in tow. This is partly what the mix is about, using beats to bridge different style of music. DJ Dom’s “Sunshowers” falls close to the middle of the mix and creates a brief pause, languid synths and drifting vocals floating over simple percussion. DJ Mystery amps the energy with “Speechless” before Hypno’s “Over The Top” lives up to it’s name with frenetic staccato melodies and drums. There is much to be said for weaving in these dance floor gems and presenting a slice of what makes the current musical scene so exciting. The ethnic beats of Rishi Romero’s “African Forest” are a good lead in to the Eastern feel of “Fatherless” by up and comer Breach.

2562 starts the mix’s descent with a sonically complicated monster named “Dinosaur,” the beats flipping back and forth and synths sounding as if they are rolling around a clothes dryer. The instantly recognizable and thoroughly insane “Trilingual Dance Sexperience” by Dorian Concept is our penultimate slice of dance floor mayhem. It’s a song so wild and different, so difficult to actually explain, that the escalating and falling syncopation of closer Funkineven “Must Move” comes as a relief mingled with surprise, like many of the intricacies of a quality mix. By putting together well-known tracks with a few under the radar gems, Brackles has effectively replicated the experience of a good night out, dancing to your recent favorites and moments that have you scouring the Internet for clues days later. For dance music fans standing hesitantly on the edge of the nameless swathes of bass music it provides stepping stones that make the gap seem much more manageable.

Apple Pips have spent their first five records mining the area between techno and dubstep, releasing 12″s from established techno vets and some of dubstep’s biggest, freshest names. Appleblim, however, is not content to stick with a single sound, and the latest records from his Bristol-based label bring even more genres into the melting pot. Their sixth comes from Brackles, a man earning lots of attention for both his fantastic DJing and his productions as well. Brackles has previously collaborated with Shortstuff, but his first completely solo 12,” “Get a Job,” brings in a totally different sound to the Apple Pips camp.

The title track is loaded with 2-stepping garage beats and what appear to be 16-bit bleeps and bloops, but are too full sounding to have been harvested from an old Super Nintendo. Arpeggios ascend quickly, only to be completed by distinct, higher octave blips. “Lizards” has a similar sound profile but comes at you harder, with more squelching synths and hushed white noise screams. Both are full-on garage swingers, quickly paced, though perhaps to a fault. That they clock in at under 5 minutes each is no sin, but I can’t help wishing they were be longer. The end of “Get a Job” in particular sounds like it could be the midpoint breakdown, leaving me compelled to rewind it. Regardless, there is something to be said for their terseness — something refreshing about Brackles’ short and to the point production. All in all, it’s another winner in a series of great releases from Apple Pips. With a first solo release that melds genres and keep listeners hungry for more, Brackles seems likely to climb the ranks quickly and end up in many must-purchase piles.

A true rising star of the dubstep scene, Brackles is already a frequent fixture at London’s Sunday night Fwd sessions and as his recent FACT mix testifies he knows how to put the tunes together. Sharing a double-headed winner late last year with Shortstuff on Geiom’s Berkane Sol label, the pair team up proper in 2009 for “Broken Harp” on Pollen.

Sidestepping any modern conventions of dubstep, the duo opt for a sound drawing from UK garage and R’n'B as much as modern breakbeat. Immediately striking is the cleanness of the production on “Broken Harp;” where the majority of tracks associated with this genre are infused with manipulated crackles and sonic grit to add texture, it’s a true anomaly to hear something with such an untarnished quality to it. Befitting of the name, the track is a plucked string haven with typically airy harp tones rising and falling with the utmost grace. Guitar strings add the accents while the bass kind of warbles around behind the scenes, providing more of a sonic padding than any melodic direction itself. The percussion is the only element that reminds of a reference to dubstep; skippy hats coupled with a broad clap bearing roomfuls of reverb contrast against the sweetly serene sounds of the stringed instruments. It would be easy to dismiss the relative simplicity of “Broken Harp” as not completely realized, but in actual fact it’s rare to find a dubstep tune that shows such restraint, so it can almost come across as off-putting when it happens. 

For those who like things a touch more grimy, old hand Geiom adds the touches of gristle comparatively lacking in the original on his Geiomix. While he changes the bass line and tools with the melodies a little, it’s the extra flourishes Geiom adds that really bring his mix alive. He brings in different instruments to sound off alternate versions of the main melody, thereby creating more depth and scope to the track. But then the thousand and one other little fills and touches he executes in no small way also add to the beauty of this mix. Fans of Synkro will certainly dig on the original of “Broken Harp,” while the Geiomix will most likely garner more club attention. With upcoming releases slated for Apple Pips, future output from Brackles and Shortstuff looks to be met with ever increasing attention.