Morgan Zarate - Hookid EP

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5...according to our Brett on Thu 27 Jan, 2011.

This dude drums in that Spacek band, like. Can't remember if I've ever heard them but there you go. In recent times he's produced the likes of Ghostface Killah, which means a fair bit more to me. If you're a friend of Dennis, you're a friend of mine. This 12" precedes the forthcoming Hyperdub album and I'm thinking it's really quite excellent. I guess the easiest touchstone for the lead track might be the stuff Flying Lotus has done on the label but there's more of a dirty swing to the beats here that recalls the rudeness evident in stuff by the likes of Joker, or perhaps even Terror Danjah. The synths have definitely got that current dayglo Hyperdub sound going and I'm loving the little drum rushes.. There's loads going on actually. The quality keeps up on the other side with 'Buy Bye' spending its duration chaotically bumping into itself, mad electron-stylee, and the simpler 'SP' sounding like the perfect soundtrack to the best retro-future sci-fi cop show that never existed. Good shit!

Morgan Zarate is best known for pushing R&B and hip hop into new spaces, taking influences from the US and
UK and creating raw, emotional and psychedelic beats. On this first EP for Hyperdub, his production steps up in
tempo, and the influence on his music of grime and dubstep shines through. He started on this path in early 2000
when he released the now classic 'Curvatia' as part of the influential group Spacek. He has since produced their
critically acclaimed sophomore album ‘Vintage Hi-Tech,’ and following on from that has worked with soul legends
Raphael Saadiq and Amp Fiddler. He’s produced for Ghostface Killah, Dilla's favorites Frank n Dank, Musiq
Soulchild, Eska, and has worked on campaigns for Nike and others. Most recently his production unit The Shining
has been playlisted on Radio 1. 'Hookid' is the first 12'' from his forthcoming solo album, which is slated for 2011
release on Hyperdub. The EP starts with ‘Hookid’ itself, a half time grime/dubstep influenced track where swirling
and bumping synth melodies try and find space inbetween congas and hard hand claps. On ‘Buy Bye’ dense
melody and rhythm splash and pulse, half-heard through a tight mesh of slip-sliding compression like a flashing
strobe light through swirling coloured smoke … the effect is intricate and highly psychedelic. The EP ends with the
more straightforward ‘SP’. A simple, urgent sounding synth melody that seems like it’s been recorded from a third
generation cassette of a John Carpenter soundtrack builds over a hissing rhythm – it’s unusual and memorable in
it’s brevity, like a sonic logo for a mysterious organization from a science fiction film.