Manchester mainstay Dark Room Robot makes the sort of music that gets the club bumping. His blend of house, techno, electro, bass and sound system culture always results in high-impact sounds with irresistible frequencies. He is an artist who can do it all, from edits of pop queens like Sabrina Carpenter to his multi-volume Strobe Lights series, always with an unmistakable dance floor edge and potent collision of styles. This latest EP is another testament to that, coming after high-profile support from BBC Radio 1 with TSHA dropping his techno rework of Four Tet in her Essential mix, and continued support from DJs like Paul Woolford and Hannah Holland.
Funky techno gem ‘Pleasure’ kicks off with silky, fast-paced club rhythms that sweep you off your feet while subtle melodies and whispered vocals enrich the groove. ‘Touch It’ rides on jacked-up drums with gritty synths drilling through the mix and filtered vocal sounds, adding the sleaze. The superb ‘Fukin Techno’ is another pumper that pairs physical, rolling drums with deft sci-fi synth sounds and oozes character from the spoken word samples that run right through it.
‘Temptation’ brings old school style to new school club beats with well-defined drums and bass, chopped-up vocals and bright synth lines all vying for your attention, while ‘Try’ is a broken beat gem with a menacing low-end and compelling rhythm. There is an old school jungle feel to the breakbeats of ‘Low Lights’ while a squelchy acid bassline takes things to the next level, and finally ‘Ear Glitter’ shuts down with an elastic and dubby groove topped with smooth chords, trippy melodic refrains and swung to perfection.
Dark Room Robot’s Lights Down Low EP comes on Forbidden Fruit Recordings on December 12th 2024.
Tracklist
1. Pleasure
2. Touch It
3. Fukin Techno
4. Temptation
5. Try
6. Low Lights
7. Ear Glitter
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