Freaky dirty jackin Techno Monster
Early Experiments sees Jackmaster release a collection of music recorded during lockdown, a particularly abundant period spent getting to grips with his home studio. After years of honing his craft solely as a DJ, lockdown saw him dive headfirst into exploring music production and sound design. As you would hope, the results draw from as many strains of influence as his wide-ranging club mixes do.
The A Side opens with ‘Face Your Fate’ which sees Jack call in Keith Tucker from Aux 88 and Blak Tony to further cement the Glasgow > Detroit bond with a classic short & sweet vocal delivery. Next up is the polished loopy techno of ‘Vizor’, reminiscent of close friend Artwork’s Grain project meeting Chain Reaction, the EP moves through Dutch electro-funk, Detroit influenced pads and chords and even the sounds of UK Garage. ‘SBS’ pairs a clever monologue sample with hard-hitting percussion and a floor friendly breakdown, inspired by his his formative years dancing and watching in awe when the likes of Lory D, Claude Young and Jeff Mills would pass through Glasgow.
The tempo rises to 140 on the menacing ‘A Tribute’, with sharp synth programming recalling the foundational Mixed up in the Hague CD’s.