V.I.V.E.K
Feel It

5
...according to our Ant on 26 August 2010.

This is the second release on Mala's Deep Medi label from V. Shadra, and is four tracks on heavyweight vinyl accompanied by a 45 minute mix CD (THIS CD IS NOW SOLD OUT, sorry!) which includes all four tracks plus a ton of dubplates. Opener 'Feel It' is PROPER dubstep. No cookie cutter stuff here, just the purest, huge bass machinations with spiritual vocal sample, trance inducing tablas and all out interstellar good vibes with all the hallmarks of ace early to mid-period DMZ. A swift flip over to 'Grandfather Clock' which has a metronomic ticking that prepares for a rolling mid-tempo burner that is total fuckin' class. This one is on a wee bit of the techy side; with repetitive hi-hats low in the mix and a sort of dual bassline/ synth attack, complete with reverbed clock dongs. This has all the elements of a crucial smoke filled 2AM floor filler. I'm really digging this guys warm and full production sound, he's totally nailed it. A subtle track which is astonishingly infectious. Like Bob Marley once said: "When the music hits, you feel no pain". Onto the second plate with 'Motherland' with its fairly minimal construction and Indian vocal sample. Again the tablas appear and build towards a spacious breakdown before the bass kicks back in for some stare out your toes meditative bass worshiping complete with some endless delay added to the vocals and atmospherics. 'Strategy' is a dub techno/ garage hybrid of supreme brilliance. An enchanting feel-good odyssey that ticks all the boxes. It makes me think of what Kevin Saunderson and Maurizio might have come up with in some fantasy scenario where they worked within a shuffling melodic garage template. One of those tunes which really makes me want to start punching the air in slow motion. When I put thee first slab of vinyl on my 1210 there was so much static on there, that it literally hoovered up a zillion micro-fibres from my slipmat and I had to get thee trusty magic brush out. Annoying, but like my misbehaving children, my love for this doublepack is unconditional. Magnetic dub of the highest order > Meditate on bass weight indeed!

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What their label says...

The latest release on Mala’s Deep Medi imprint is a four track double pack Vinyl shrink-wrapped with a 45min mix CD. The mix features all the tracks on the E.P. and upfront dubplates from V.I.V.E.K It comes on the back of his first Medi release last year ‘Kulture’ b/w ‘Meditation Rock’ and countless dubplates that you’ll no doubt have heard if you’ve checked the Anti Social Entertainment on Rinse FM. Fusing digidub, sound system deep bass, rolling percussion, a hint of Berlin techno it all adds up to those ‘Medi’ style vibes; eyes down, blissed out, heavy weight music.
The title track, ‘Feel It’ kicks things off in fine style with some of the most infectious rolling tablas – his percussion is just sublime. A vocal sample declaring the weight of your bass and the largeness of your soundsystem is all the track needs to usher in a chest thumping sub sonic bass tone and there is no way back you’re sucked into that soup of sub bass frequencies. ‘Grandfather Clock’ counts down to a dance floor meltdown when the metronome-like sample, half tempo drum patterns and hefty bass melts into blazing techno buzzes that just keep coming, it’s those killer synths that make it, truly coming from nowhere.
The deeply blissful ‘Motherland’ is one for the meditative crew, subtle but weighty bass pulses roll off half stepping rhythms, tablas and all that good stuff all accented with Indian vocals instrumentation. It’s so deep, minimal it would make Youngsta proud. The final track ‘Strategy’ is a roller with a garage kind of swing to it, it skips along with big room dub techno chords twisting in and out of the bumpy beats it really comes alive and picks up the pace. Pure vibes all the way.

Tracklisting:

a V.I.V.E.K – Feel It
b V.I.V.E.K – Grandfather Clock
c V.I.V.E.K – Motherland
d V.I.V.E.K – Strategy