Funkystepz - Fuller / Hurricane Riddim

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Brian on Thu 17 Feb, 2011.

Looks like another garage-y/house hybrid roller from the Hyperdub boys. 'Fuller' is a right solid tune, one of those itchy euphoric groovers that has one foot in the murky post-grime minefield, another in more celebratory floor-slaying pastures. It screams pirate radio smash to be honest. Classic house maneuvers such as an intermittent Italo-style piano line dally with a strong essence of classic Chicago house, but the air punching, hard-stepping rhythm & "wonky" cartoon rave stabs place the tune firmly into the contemporary realm. Everything about this number is thoroughly enjoyable, basically because nothing is overplayed, every element is brought in & phased out so succinctly, the flow of the tune becomes quite compulsive. One of those where you're kinda sad when it's over. They do like throwing their name into the mix occasionally, just to remind you who is producing these restless, lithe rhythms for your delectation. The flip has a cool techno kick & a relentless chiming aquatic synth stabs which put me in mind of a slightly less abstract Hieroglyphic Being. Both tunes are propulsive floor fillers, seemingly managing to be both sparse & muscular, powerful templates for maximal devastation at the party in your mind....

Funkystepz are a collective of house producers from North London, with a show on Rinse FM and a string of self-released underground hits under their belts. They're definitely some of the producers to watch out for this year. After a period of trial and testing on dubplate by DJs like Kode9 and Marcus Nasty, this first release for Hyperdub doesn't mess about. ‘Fuller’ is a dancefloor destroyer of a very British vintage. Hard without being rigid, with a cold, elastic sense of melody that bounces and snaps around the midrange between the bass and snares. Tempered by an occasional organ stab, it's one of those tracks that will lively up any club straight away, doing away with the forced euphoria of a lot of contemporary dance music, and instead honing the harder-to-master skill of energetic intensity and building anticipation. ‘Hurricane Riddim’ takes the listener through a number of contrasting moods simply but effectively. Opening with heavy orchestral stabs and military snares reminicent of classic grime, the addition of a complicated, snaking bassline gives the track a jump up feel, and the eight-bar aggression gives way to sections of orchestral calm and a sad but bouncy piano melody.