Rollin Deep by Free Crush
MalLabel Music has scoured the frontier of bass culture for untapped and unhindered resources. One such an unfiltered source of fractal filled fury is Konekta, a prolific and inspiring young programmer hailing from Medford, Oregon. MalLabel has compiled a sexy sampling of Konekta’s best solo work, as well as a handful of his work with his collaboration project Free Crush (with partner Devi), perfect for any life form fiending for futuristic funk. The Rollin Deep EP from Konekta and Free Crush is an ambitious opus of originals and remixes filled to the brim with a mixed bag of glitch, drumstep, fractal bass, and hyper-step rhythms. From start to finish, the EP is high energy, and is laden with originality.
Konekta takes a stab at a drumstep remix of a MalLabel original: El Diablo’s seminal “Rolling With My Crew (Featuring Mal Irie),” and MC Ro Knew provides additional lyrics for the jam in a very West Coast style, shouting out trips to the moon and ‘getting hella saucerfaced.’ Mal Irie gets two more re-rubs on the EP, giving her one-of-a-kind lyrics a workout and proving her worth as a hype MC.
Konekta’s tense but alluring solo work on the EP, such as “Reset the Atari” and “Sailing By,” are contrasted by the more sensuous and lush collab work by Free Crush. Free Crush provides three original tunes, two of which receive standout remixes by up-and-coming virtuoso producers The Frim and Taso. “Hammer Down (The Frim Remix)” and Taso’s remix of “Flexciser” both showcase the individual talent and prowess of The Frim and Taso. Finally, the one and only leader of Pet Nation, Mochipet, knocks out a massively grooving remix of “Sailing By,” breathing a different bit of life into it and forging it into his familiar brand of in-your-face dance floor killer.
The overall manic and melodic mood of the EP keeps listeners hooked in, even with the lengthy release boasting a full album’s worth of 10 tracks. Konekta and Free Crush show off an impressive range of imaginative movement, combining deep, rocking beats, dubbed-out vocals, cavernous synth arrangements, and steady grooves. Where some simply set their Massive patches at “stun,” Konekta and Free Crush rinse out that additional originality in their tones. This release is definitely easily respectable, an enjoyable listen, and with mastering provided by Bill Bless, the mix downs bang out boldly, DJ friendly and ready to rock dance halls across the landscape of underground bass.
Artwork by Tigerfresh & Exodub
Tracklist
| 1. | Hands Up ft. Mal Irie | 3:52 |
| 2. | Sailing By | 4:08 |
| 3. | Guilty Pleasures | 3:14 |
| 4. | Rollin’ with My Crew ft. Mal Irie & Ro Nu (Free Crush RMX) | 3:30 |
| 5. | Reset the Atari | 3:44 |
| 6. | Hammer Down | 4:36 |
| 7. | Flexicizer | 3:57 |
| 8. | Hands Up Dabbed Out ft. Mal Irie | 3:28 |
| 9. | Flexicizer (Taso RMX) | 4:27 |
| 10. | Sailing By (Mochipet RMX) | 3:34 |
| 11. | Hammer Down (The Firm RMX) | 6:21 |
