Friday, March 17, 2023

VA - Two [Is Greater Than] One

Our sixth VA compilation continues in the collective spirit at the heart of Pressure Dome; here taking its fullest form. The first of its kind in the label catalogue, ‘Two [Is Greater Than] One’ sees a selection of PD regulars and friends of the label put their heads together across eight atmospheric tracks, equally as suited to the club as to solo listening.

Those who have followed the label for a while will be no stranger to the comp’s first collaborator. Human Resources teams up with London dub techno specialist, Keplrr, on ‘Spring’: a mood-led composition where the impact is contained in atmosphere. Fragmented drum breaks are engulfed by airy synth pads and punctuated by a dancehall-indebted rhythm that marches at 90BPM. ‘Yuppel’ welcomes Noods Radio mainstay Sid Quirk aka Keppel into the mix. He is joined by label boss, Yushh, on a ruminative percussive tool, guided by cavernous drums that fabricate a vivid, immersive environment. With the guidance of Brighton’s Caldera, the journey continues with ‘Süss Choc’. The reverb-laden synth plucks on ‘evoke water droplets, and hallucinatory details echo around them to create the illusion of being in a mountainous cove.

Delay Grounds – an audiophile in the truest sense of the word – is next to take the baton. Together, he and Yushh take it up a notch on ‘Telomere’ – a full-bodied club-ready track packed with glitchy chords and giddy drums. A gnarly, Pariah-esque breakdown segues into the track’s second wind where pitched-up vocal chops accelerate it to the compilation’s energetic climax. With the help of London drum specialist, Syz, ‘Fuzbidun’ keeps our feet firmly on the dancefloor. Breakbeats are chopped and rearranged, flitting between double and half time whilst a distorted mid-bass roughens things round the edges, prepping the ground for the compilation’s move to a more inorganic feel.

Bristol don, Forever, joins Yushh next on ‘Passing Notes’ – a groove-driven club track where skittish percussion ricochets from side to side, so palpable it tempts the touch. ‘Crash Bash Party At BUFOs’ is no different. The link-up between Delay Grounds and dance music’s stalwart of musique concrète, Wordcolour, is completely idiosyncratic to both artists: the perfect combination of found-sound percussion and skillfully rehashed vocal samples. It’s up to two PD mainstays – Roy Mills and Human Resources – to close proceedings. A chugging rhythm bubbles under the surface of ‘Sycophantasy’, sending us on a dubbed-out trip before picking the pace back up again.
 

Tracklist:
1. Keplrr & Human Resources – Spring
2. Keppel & Yushh – Yuppel
3. Caldera & Yushh – Suss Choc
4. Delay Grounds & Yushh – Telomere
5. Syz & Yushh – Fuzbidun
6. Forever & Yushh – Passing Notes
7. Delay Grounds & Wordcolour – Crash Bash Party At BUFO’s
8. Roy Mills & Human Resources – Sycophantasy