Hype Williams - Kelly Price W8 Gain Vol II. EP

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

5...according to our Ant on Thu 30 Jun, 2011.

Kode9, always with an ear on what's happening in the depths of the London underground music scene, has used Hyperdub as a platform to promote fresh and emerging talent, whether it be dubstep/grime/funky or whatever. So news of Hype Williams making an appearance on the label sort of makes sense. Even though they don't strictly fit in with the labels usual agenda of bass music they probably have more in common with the guys than one might expect, especially a love of all things green and smelly but that probably goes without saying. So the 4 track EP kicks off with the sensual, slinky late night groove of 'Rise Up' in a similar mode to the duo's excellent Sade cover, this has a stoned barely decipherable sultry vocal and then a bassline that could have been lifted from prime early Chicago house together with the simple, primitive but well deployed drum machine rhythm. The overall feeling is of stumbling upon a long lost house/soul track that's been turning mouldy buried under stacks of vinyl in some basement. 'Boss Man' is another fine example of their recent output with a melody that sounds like it's almost collapsing over a warm modulating bassline. Quite a chirpy little tune but sorta melancholy too. Then 'Boss Man' on the flip side seems to be channeling Cyndi Lauper's Time after Time and 808 State's 'Pacific State'. Finally 'Badmind' has some pretty chiming sounds over dry drum machine shakers and claps with a bizarre piece of dialogue/spoken word sampled over the top. Quality as always from these guys.

‘Kelly Price W8 Gain Vol.II EP’ is the four track Hyperdub debut from Hype Williams, a group with two core members who have spawned a steadily growing labyrinth of hermetic, audio/visual surrealism over the last year, and have attracted the attention of many inquisitive and occasionally confused eyes and ears. Hype Williams’ hazy aesthetic gives these tracks an opiated glow from the get go. ‘Rise Up’ buries Inga Copeland’s soft untrained vocal in slow kicks and the most warm, ecstatic chords this side of early New Jersey Garage. The rough dub feel and hand punched drums of ‘Boss Man’ are matched with cloud-like Detroit chords and smudged melodies that sound like they’re borrowed off a lost Wiley Sino-Grime classic. ‘Farthing Wood Dub’ rubs together smooth chords reminiscent of 808 State’s ‘Pacific State’ with an Augustus Pablo-styled melodica, while ccasional jump cut edits and awkward melodies stop the track from feeling too settled. The last track ‘Bad Mind’ plays out the awkward juxtaposition of graceful rounds of Japanese-sounding synths that gently chime behind the entrancing gloom of a poetry recital over a winding bassline. Hype Williams' odd sounding musical narcotics seem perfectly at home on Hyperdub.