Distronet EP // Thefft

‘I thought people liked their dance music as boring as possible’ a friend of mine remarked recently, when the topic of the current wave of UK dance music arose in discussion. No matter how much truth there may be in that statement, Thefft’s Distronet EP is one release it’d be hard to accuse of confining itself to identikit style house, taking a myriad of compositional approaches from the twitching funk of Jungle Out There, to the heaving tech-stabs of Distronet.

The EP comes as the second offering from Fulcrum Records, an imprint headed in part by Manchester’s Sam Schorb aka Damu. It’s refreshing to hear a relatively new producer take such a playful approach to production. Especially in this climate where most dancefloor productions are tailored towards being played in moody faux-underground warehouse raves. The EP’s closer TenTen is a particular case in point, and whilst not the strongest cut on the EP it deserves kudos for its unique, lighthearted approach, underpinning bouyant jazz piano with shuffling garage-y drums, and the obligatory R&B vocal chops to match.

The funk vibes of Robertson’s Jungle Out There are reintroduced on the EP’s third track This Way Down, although the track is more atmospheric and brooding than the outright bravado of the EP’s opener. Regardless, both tracks feel linked due to their distinctly swung grooves, not to mention the fact that both tracks feature expertly spliced spoken word vocal cuts.

Whatever Robertson’s next move may be, we hope it is as refreshing as Distronet.

• Published
• Nov 3, 2012

• Credits
• Words by Theo Darton-Moore