Dispatch Recordings are relentless with their onslaught of releases and one of the few instances when quantity and quality go hand in hand.
This week we present Quadrant, Iris & Kid Hops, Jamal & D-Struct with the ‘Calculated Risk EP’; you should know what to expect from this collective straight away, especially after the huge ‘206’ album on Commercial Suicide and the equally acclaimed ‘Microsleep EP’ on Dispatch.
What I love about their output is the emphasis on heavy rolling drum & bass, and there is so much energy in their productions, I always look forward to playing a tune or two in a mix.
So here we are with their latest EP, a strong 5 tracker (on digital and 3 on vinyl) which also includes the ‘Microsleep Remix’ by label boss Ant TC1 & Dauntless. The title track ‘Calculated Risk’ with ‘Reflector’ are probably my picks of the release, both of which have the driving energy I mentioned earlier; crisp rolling drums, lush pads, futuristic stakka & skynet esq stabs & riffs melt into some great head banging bass. We then get to the ‘Microsleep Remix’, which evolves into something new but retains the dance floor dna of the original. Dauntless and Ant TC1 have done justice to the track, and added their spin with good filter work on the main riff and given it a real funky edge.
We then come to the 2 digital bonus tracks, ‘Reducer’ and ‘Hyperloop’, elinlisting the creative minds of Jamal and D-Struct respectively. Both tracks are pure fire, ‘Reducer’ is a moody roller, where as ‘Hyperloop’ harks back to the Dope Dragon sound; big boomy bass and tight drums and with a trademark vocal sample before the drop.
What can I say? The quality dispatch are putting out is unreal and Quadrant Iris Kid Hops deliver a good music yet again. Buy on sight!
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