With the whole garage re-invention of late (dare I call it ‘future garage’?), there’s been a lot of Joy Orbison imitations that, whilst exciting at first, quickly showed themselves to be pretty uninspiring.
It’s my pleasure then to introduce this breath of fresh air: Kommune 1. Hailing from Lincoln, he retains the staple of deep soul that remains so appealing about the sound, and absorbs obvious influence such as Burial and Hyperdub, but twists the hackneyed template into something a little more off-kilter.
‘Ksmchldn’ has the rumbling bass of dark, brooding techno, the popping high-end of minimal, and a sparse, ominous crackle of distortion; all set against distant vox’ed r’n'b vocals:
Kommune 1 – ksmchldn [pelski highly recommends]
A muted gurgle of bass opens up a drudging, rain-soaked foray into the deep. This is 2-step at its most stripped back and pent-up, the beats click and clunk in a muted, restrained manner, behind a yearning, impossibly soulful female songstress:
Kommune 1 – Voids For Scenesters [pelski highly recommends]
‘Splintering, Nor Convection’ is perhaps a little more of what we’re used to. Gentle yet abrupt bass pads jolt memories of Joy Orbison’s ‘BRKLN CLLN’, but with a darker edge emanating from those eerie echoes and sharp snares:
