HOT HOT HOT (CRM081)

 

Not a label to miss a trick, Crosstown Rebels snap up the sonic ashes of what seems to have been an epic studio session with some of electronic music’s most distinguished gentlemen, Inxec and Droog. It’s also plain to see that when they fight it out in the studio some kind of voodoo mischief goes down...

Choice trans-Atlantic partnership Inxec vs Droog deliver ‘The Westbound EP’, their spellbinding debut offering on Crosstown Rebels. Comprising 4 original cuts destined to get deep inside your nerve centre, LA trio and Culprit label bosses Droog and Brit techno accomplice Inxec strike that all-important balance between magnetic dancefloor appeal and impeccably smooth and compelling production, rich in complexity and atmosphere. It’s got DC-10 written all over it.

A-side ‘Westbound’ is replete in eerie techno soul. Electronic drops of water convey a spiritual dimension amid the dark and dreamy rolling textures - a skilfully placed sample juxtaposed as the grit. In what seems to be a running theme for the EP, ‘Westbound’ is danceably dark and entirely riveting. Murkier still, ‘Accidental’ is a melancholic ride along a dubby elastic bassline with sweeping ambient techno circled by a haunting female cry.

Flip over to the B-side and enter increasingly druggy territory as the outfit gets ‘Unhinged’. Hypnotic, deep and sexy, ‘Unhinged’ is laced with sinister dissonant chords, out of which emerges a soul-piercing female voice, sensual and strange. “Pulling me closer” echoes distorted as if through disembodied souls as the techy hi-hats pick up along the melodic, gothic bassline. The overall effect is intoxicating.

Out of the dark with the rising sun over the terrace comes the fourth and final instalment, ‘Sleepless Knights’. Structured around arpeggiated synths and a slowed down vocal refrain, housey and full of warmth, the atmosphere touches on both deep minimalism and electro all geared towards a pulsing, spaced out dancefloor at dawn. Sprawling and sanguine, ‘Sleepless Knights’ could be an anthem for sleepless nights.

Nottingham-born and Munich-based Inxec is known for his epic, enthralling tech-house and Droog is North America’s most exciting DJ team, their stars on the rise. All hail the dream team and may they go to the dark side and back, again. Expect more from Droog on Rebels.

Link to the tracks