Basskruit returns with another reminder that the Belgium and Netherlands crew continue to lead the way in 2021! Dutch producer Crowley has featured on a couple of Basskruit projects during it’s first year and with some of the fire he possesses, it was inevitable to see him come through with a fully loaded EP on the label. After featuring on my Producers To Watch list earlier this year, he certainly hasn’t let me down having produced a brilliant memorable EP on Locus Sound, plus features on the likes of Duploc and For The Heads, and now this, the freshest four tracker you’ll hear in this latter part of the year! BSSKRT011 is Crowley dialled in, it’s his sharpshooting sound in all it’s glory and is even done justice by the enigma that is SCHIM92, who remixes the leading track ‘Quill‘, which features as today’s premiere!
Whilst the opening track ‘Quill’, is an energising demonstration of the authenticity that oozes from Crowley‘s sound, with the raw convoluted percussion and the dancing subs creating much of the action, SCHIM92‘s remix is it’s moody, melancholic emo sister. The flawless percussive rolls remain and rightly so, but instead, SCHIM92 strips it back, adds space to the bass and introduces those soft and sombre synth notes, stabbing through the busy percussive hits, mutating into a wistful breeze of a melody. Crowley pairs up with fellow Dutch bass specialist Chendah for the devastating bass oscillations of ‘Chug‘, a merciless roller with sickening fluctuations, before a conclusion of epic sub proportions with ‘Flesh & Blood‘. One of my favourite unreleased Crowley cuts for a while, ‘Flesh & Blood‘ is a true finale tune that sets the system ablaze in such a way, that even the steppers can get down to it!
Crowley continues to keep things as authentic and as distinct as anything else heard within dubstep and 140 today. When I say authentic, I don’t necessarily mean the kind of purity that the heads of 2005 would particularly appreciate or identify with, but the kind of rawness that’s inherent in his productions. It’s not old-school, it’s very much the present, it’s very much Crowley.
BSSKRT011 is out 04/10/2021 and available on vinyl and to download from the Basskruit Bandcamp.
Check out Crowley on Soundcloud and Instagram.
Check out SCHIM92 on Soundcloud and Instagram.
Check out Basskruit on Soundcloud and Instagram.