Retreat celebrates its first double-digit release with something out of the ordinary: an ep from Session Victim’s Matthias Reiling that blends House, Hip-Hop and UK Bass music in a very unique way. After two highly praised albums on Giegling, the Hamburg – based producer further develops his musical persona with the help of dusty samples, bouncy beats, tense atmospheres and a strong cinematic feel. Escape the room is a highly fascinating slab of vinyl that will not leave your record player for months!
Woodland sets the tone for the whole ep: a reduced and droney House tune that makes great use of vinylinduced noise. Constantly moving hi-hats combine with a subterranean bass to provide a super-tight groove that is highly addictive. With only a chord stab and some extra percussion altering the groove from time to time, Woodland is definitely a deep and hypnotic affair, somehow reminiscent of Photek’s early output but with an unmistakable Reiling twist.
Matthias’ Hip-Hop influences particularly shine through on the heavy 100 bpm banger Kalkskar. This pretty reduced track showcases a medieval-sounding guitar loop build upon a skippy beat. But when most producers would be happy with the main loop playing straight through the whole song, Matthias never lets it rest: the guitar gets filtered, halved, echoed or reversed before finally fading into oblivion.
The Hissing is pure excitement on wax and proves the age-old saying that “The B-Side Wins again”: the drama unfolds on a slow House tempo as strident strings get beefed up by pounding drums and a low bassline. The pressure kicks it up a notch during the break when a character informs us about incoming pain and the sound of hissing. The beat then drops back in with extra string riffs and spooky organ touches. Tension rises when additional percussion creeps in to slowly introduce another dramatic monolog breakdown. But the hissing stops as soon as the groove returns, keeping the track alive for another minute before it’s ineluctable fate.
As the ep’s closer, Malachai is a masterfully crafted tune that rolls with the tightest of basslines. This Hip-Hop/ Drum ’n’ Bass hybrid begins with a warning about upcoming terror scenes before letting loose a stateof- the-art beat workout. Weird synths and percussive elements help keep the excitement levels in check before the song experiences a proper Hip-Hop changeover. The drums move back in while a faint melody calmly drivesthis refined track to its conclusion.
A1 – Woodland
A2 –Kalkskar
B1 – The Hissing
B2 – Malachai
Release: October 5th 2011
(RTR-10_Releasesheet)