Leeds/Nottingham duo Mak & Pasteman might be in their 20s, but their musical influences stretch from the funk and soul of the 60/70s, through Juan Atkins proto-techno, to soulful house, D n B and UK Garage. Which wont surprise anyone listening to this, their debut EP for Shifting Peaks, a 4 track statement of intent that sounds like it couldnt have been made any time but 2012, but also feels like 20 years of hardcore continuum is embedded deep in its musical DNA.
EP opener Do the Same works a looped up, garagey, energy fuelled vocal around a broken beat, pulsing bassline, and deep pad washes for a hypnotic, but floor friendly outing. Lost takes off on a darker tangent, combining a hypno-synth riff with fat drums and buzzing dark-core bassline , before the disembodied vocal sample emerges from the shadows and the spacey breakdown punches back into the brooding body of the tune. Vinyl crackles meld with percussion, subtly orchestrated drama underpins the arrangement , and an atmospheric afterglow from raves distant past radiates throughout. On the remix front, Leeds hotshot Youandewan keeps the momentum he built up in 2011 going strong into 012, as he strips down Lost into 6.30 mins of synapapse stroking, dubby house. It nods to (post ?) funky, it probably has relations that fought in the dubstep wars, but in the end its deep, immersive house music. San Franciscan Lando Kal didnt hang about last year either, with quality outings on Rush Hour, Numbers and Hotflush. Here he takes snatches of Do The Sames vocal and loops it over a rolling, grimey, Washing Machine style bassline and punchy 4/4s for a brooding, floor friendly mix.