I’ll be honest. It wasn’t up until the release on Infernal Sounds earlier this year that I had heard of Bristol based duo DE-TU. They immediately caught my ear with weighty tracks such as ‘Fruitcake‘ and I have since been hungry for more. Thank god for White Peach Records. Today DE-TU release their new three track EP on White Peach, one of the finest and busiest bass music based labels right now.
The EP begins with the title track ‘Koshi‘ which completely satisfies that hunger for more DE-TU music. Introing with a build up of atmosphere and a tease of what turns out to be the leading flute, ‘Koshi’ drops into a tough yet minimal beat. Something that the duo are great at is not over doing what they do. Without sounding too cliché, DE-TU are just great at pure, honest dubstep. The ingenious use of the flute sample that runs throughout, over the natural sounding percussion and weighty thumping low end, is all that’s needed here.
‘Sippin‘ has to be my personal favourite of the three. I believe I first heard it during a mix by Sleeper and immediately had to hit the rewind button and have done many times since. Not only has DE-TU mastered the production side of things once again, they’ve bravely gone and featured themselves on their own track with some silky smooth rapping that fits in perfectly. Absolute belter.
The EP concludes with the aptly named ‘Slap‘. This is what I call a proper ‘wub wub’ tune. The pulsing ‘wubs’ are apparent from the out set, but the regular inclusion of a striking guitar lead that comes and goes as the track progresses is what really sets it off. All of which flows over some stunningly minimal and organic percussion, something that DE-TU have clearly refined for this release.
If you’re after some pure organic 140 beats with a little spice (particularly on ‘Sippin’), then this is for you.
‘Koshi’ is out today and available on vinyl from the White Peach store or digitally from the White Peach Bandcamp.
Check out DE-TU on Soundcloud.
Check out White Peach Records on Soundcloud and Twitter.