The Mag
Claire Ripley Sweat EP
Claire Ripley – Sweat EP
Dogmatik Digital
House, tech house
September 2011
You’ll recognize Dogmatik as the label which released early Maja Jane Coles stuff, and Claire Ripley as the name seen on imprints like murmur and Dessous thus far. Here they come together for a diverse house and tech EP which offers plenty, including essential remixes from recent long player man Mark E, and ever reliable deeper-than-deep houser, Bearweasel.
‘DJ Fuckhead’ is as irreverent as its title. It builds in stages, where a well defined kick is joined by muffled, swirling melodic colour and some snappy, tech-wise snares. It’s both stand-up yet fluid and, with time, charms its way under your skin and has you wiggling to its beat. For his part, Mark E goes in with acid intentions, littering the mid-section with wiggling 303 lines and a grimier finish overall.
‘Lois Eats Mud’ again has a warm soul radiating from its core, with choppier lines and more aqueous percussion than ‘Fuckhead’. As a vocal muses about the meaning of music, it echoes and decays, adding a human edge to the softly tribal drum patter all around it: functional, yes, but slick with it.
It’s no surprise Bearweasel’s version is the dubbiest, but the comparatively expressive melodies maybe are. All bendy, waify and whimsical, they spread themselves across the whole smooth-house framework, roaming miles away from either of the other two versions and far deeper into your conscious as a result. A useful EP, for sure.
Kristan J Caryl
Dogmatik Digital
House, tech house
September 2011
You’ll recognize Dogmatik as the label which released early Maja Jane Coles stuff, and Claire Ripley as the name seen on imprints like murmur and Dessous thus far. Here they come together for a diverse house and tech EP which offers plenty, including essential remixes from recent long player man Mark E, and ever reliable deeper-than-deep houser, Bearweasel.
‘DJ Fuckhead’ is as irreverent as its title. It builds in stages, where a well defined kick is joined by muffled, swirling melodic colour and some snappy, tech-wise snares. It’s both stand-up yet fluid and, with time, charms its way under your skin and has you wiggling to its beat. For his part, Mark E goes in with acid intentions, littering the mid-section with wiggling 303 lines and a grimier finish overall.
‘Lois Eats Mud’ again has a warm soul radiating from its core, with choppier lines and more aqueous percussion than ‘Fuckhead’. As a vocal muses about the meaning of music, it echoes and decays, adding a human edge to the softly tribal drum patter all around it: functional, yes, but slick with it.
It’s no surprise Bearweasel’s version is the dubbiest, but the comparatively expressive melodies maybe are. All bendy, waify and whimsical, they spread themselves across the whole smooth-house framework, roaming miles away from either of the other two versions and far deeper into your conscious as a result. A useful EP, for sure.
Kristan J Caryl