Spread the Social Love:
Dance music in the past ten or so years will be defined by the unstoppable rise of the House producer. Alongside the Dubstep behemoths, the crossover success of David Guetta, Afrojack and our own Calvin Harris has brought a level of mainstream acceptance to EDM artists that even Tiesto or the other 90’s trance superstars couldn't have imagined. One recognisable change is that records are increasingly geared towards a radio-and-YouTube audience instead of the club crowd that have traditionally been the target of producers and DJs.
LISTEN // Ambivalent Live @ Wild City 025 (03-05-2012)
It’s an interesting time in Dance music, basically, but Ambivalent’s new mix album remains rooted to the time-honoured tradition of sweating it out in a dingy basement club wondering where all your friends went and, hell, that’s no bad thing. This is underground house music with a small ‘u’, eschewing bombastic drops and euphoric build-ups in favour of the more gradual, relaxed approach of Deep House and glitchy rhythm variations found in Tech House. As a mix album, Ambivalent’s choice in unreleased music from 13 featured artists throws up the odd welcome surprise, but anyone put off by low-key, scratchy rhythms that prefer to keep things ticking along rather than ever catching fire will not be well served by _ground.
As an artist, Ambivalent’s name reflects his attitude to making music, dismissive of attempts to categorise the DJ and producer within one of the numerous House subgenres, but several common threads run through the mix. The first is introduced on opener ‘Lost in Shapes’ by Casbah, a downbeat groove with a haunting melody reminiscent of Caribou’s Swim. Shimmering synths set the tone for a laid-back bassline and from there the track moves along nicely, building in atmosphere rather than complexity or intensity. This is characteristic of Ambivalent’s approach across _ground, and continues with next offering ‘Why Would I?’ by Alex Wolfe. A bass-heavy, bleepy electro-styled number, Ambivalent’s mix highlights the darker, gloomier elements to keep it in line with the otherwise very different opener. It works, though, and the dollops of thick, sludgy atmosphere set the tone for the rest of the mix.
Basslines are kept largely suppressed and, with ‘Why Would I?’ as one of a few exceptions, remain deep and dark, sitting behind the mix and adding flavour to the proceedings. Certain elements stand out in their ability to pierce through the fog, such as the interesting vocal sample on Saso Recyd’s ‘Lidudu’ or an incessant, twanging lead on another of the producers three featured tracks, ‘296 Bolts’. ROD’s ‘Moulins Three’ warps the atmosphere from a chilled groove to something more unhinged with circus organ stabs and dirty-sounding hi hats that build up to cacophony. It’s testament to Ambivalent’s skill as a DJ that the track is mixed to somehow fit, controlled by ending on an organic note much more in keeping with what we’ve heard so far.
If choosing highlights from the 21 song mix feels like cherry-picking small details, then that’s exactly the experience I had listening to _ground. The commitment to tone is admirable, but after a few songs the tracks seem to end without you even realising, the minimal attitude to progression lulling you into a submission so that even remembering what something sounds like a minute later becomes an impossible task. In each track neatly timed percussion shifts keep the head nodding and keep you interested in Ambivalent’s sonic world, but once the music stopped I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all for nothing.
Maybe this is a result of listening alone at my computer and mp3 player, but to me a really good Dance mix takes you on a journey of some sort, and at no point with _ground did I ever feel I was getting there. However, this shouldn’t put off anyone with a taste for low-key House music, as the skill shown by Ambivalent as a DJ ensures a deep, atmospheric collection with some intriguing unreleased material to explore.
Tracks to listen to:
LISTEN // Ambivalent Live @ Wild City 025 (03-05-2012)
It’s an interesting time in Dance music, basically, but Ambivalent’s new mix album remains rooted to the time-honoured tradition of sweating it out in a dingy basement club wondering where all your friends went and, hell, that’s no bad thing. This is underground house music with a small ‘u’, eschewing bombastic drops and euphoric build-ups in favour of the more gradual, relaxed approach of Deep House and glitchy rhythm variations found in Tech House. As a mix album, Ambivalent’s choice in unreleased music from 13 featured artists throws up the odd welcome surprise, but anyone put off by low-key, scratchy rhythms that prefer to keep things ticking along rather than ever catching fire will not be well served by _ground.
As an artist, Ambivalent’s name reflects his attitude to making music, dismissive of attempts to categorise the DJ and producer within one of the numerous House subgenres, but several common threads run through the mix. The first is introduced on opener ‘Lost in Shapes’ by Casbah, a downbeat groove with a haunting melody reminiscent of Caribou’s Swim. Shimmering synths set the tone for a laid-back bassline and from there the track moves along nicely, building in atmosphere rather than complexity or intensity. This is characteristic of Ambivalent’s approach across _ground, and continues with next offering ‘Why Would I?’ by Alex Wolfe. A bass-heavy, bleepy electro-styled number, Ambivalent’s mix highlights the darker, gloomier elements to keep it in line with the otherwise very different opener. It works, though, and the dollops of thick, sludgy atmosphere set the tone for the rest of the mix.
Basslines are kept largely suppressed and, with ‘Why Would I?’ as one of a few exceptions, remain deep and dark, sitting behind the mix and adding flavour to the proceedings. Certain elements stand out in their ability to pierce through the fog, such as the interesting vocal sample on Saso Recyd’s ‘Lidudu’ or an incessant, twanging lead on another of the producers three featured tracks, ‘296 Bolts’. ROD’s ‘Moulins Three’ warps the atmosphere from a chilled groove to something more unhinged with circus organ stabs and dirty-sounding hi hats that build up to cacophony. It’s testament to Ambivalent’s skill as a DJ that the track is mixed to somehow fit, controlled by ending on an organic note much more in keeping with what we’ve heard so far.
If choosing highlights from the 21 song mix feels like cherry-picking small details, then that’s exactly the experience I had listening to _ground. The commitment to tone is admirable, but after a few songs the tracks seem to end without you even realising, the minimal attitude to progression lulling you into a submission so that even remembering what something sounds like a minute later becomes an impossible task. In each track neatly timed percussion shifts keep the head nodding and keep you interested in Ambivalent’s sonic world, but once the music stopped I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all for nothing.
Maybe this is a result of listening alone at my computer and mp3 player, but to me a really good Dance mix takes you on a journey of some sort, and at no point with _ground did I ever feel I was getting there. However, this shouldn’t put off anyone with a taste for low-key House music, as the skill shown by Ambivalent as a DJ ensures a deep, atmospheric collection with some intriguing unreleased material to explore.
Ambivalent presents _ground is out now
Tracks to listen to:
- 296 Bolts
- Lost in Shapes
- Lidudu
- Born Again
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