ep review

EP Review: Black Shoes White Socks - Freaks

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​Black Shoes White Socks - Freaks

​Freaks is the creation of Luke Solomon and Justin Harris and their creds pretty much read as a who's who list... They have remixed Pulp (yay!), Damon Albarn (good!) and Kasabian (hmmm...) and seen support from The Chemical Brothers, Damian Lazarus, Laurent Garnier and Ewan Pearson amongst others.

That's an impressive list... if lists are your thing. It's also pretty varied, so it's perhaps not too surprising that Freaks' new single, 'Black Shoes White Socks', is just a little bit difficult to pigeon hole. There is a definite Arabian flavour to the swaying melodies and catchy bassline but the extroverted keys and overall production are more than just a little bit disco. Purring vocals tell a tale of music and bands and... Waiting for something. But it all seems a bit too much to me - rather like the actual fashion statement of black shoes with white socks, there is just too much going on.

As if to compensate for this we have a total of four remixes... Enough that surely one should stick. Only sadly none do. Darius Syrossian layers the vocal in heavy drums and a tough four-four bass but it comes off lacking, the vocals not meshing with the sound. The wAFF mix is more successful, a distillation of the original that feels more focused. Even Cajmere, pseudonym of bonkers techno genius Green Velvet, struggles with the material. He settles on a single loop bass line and chopped vocals - the highlight being the use of the Arabian flute as a solo.

Curiously the digital release features a dub from Freaks themselves and stripped of the vocal it suddenly makes more sense - Indian summers, piña coladas - a clash of styles, an Eastern summer disco record with that nice Arabian Flute.

It's a misstep for Hot Creations then, a label usually synonymous with a little more.

Black Shoes White Socks is released tomorrow through Hot Creations.​

EP Review: Lunatic Fringe - Lee Curtis

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Lunatic Fringe - Lee Curtis​

Curtis' new release on Visionquest is due for release next week and on it he embraces his sleazy side, creating a selection of three tracks that at times push hard against the boundaries of taste and decency. But that's probably the point... Just be warned that if you don't like pussy you may want to give this one a miss.

A-side 'Body Twitch' is the source of a lot of male libido but when Curtis isn't threatening to make your lady-parts twitch or "working like we're making kids" the track itself is a sweaty, heavy work horse. The deep vocals are almost a distraction from the booming synthesiser that wobbles with acid and lustful ambition whilst a simple drum pattern caps it off. It feels like Curtis is going for crossover appeal here - the lyrics are slightly obvious but the track is carved out of pop gold, as influenced by hip-hop as house or techno.

'Freaks' is a bit less intense on the lyrics front and a little more conventional in its production style. There is still a vocal in place, the sound of deranged dance floor desperation, but it is less overtly confrontational. The music is less immediate - electronic sound waves rush forward whenever the song picks out the melodies that signify the break but there is still a dirty sounding beat-orientated sound to the whole track.

Final track 'Haters' is reminiscent of Curtis' brilliant 'Candy' from last year. The track layers big synthesisers to create giant swaths of ambient noise and gradually building distortion. It isn't as outwardly optimistic as 'Candy' however, infected by the darkly distorted worldview peddled by the rest of Lumatic Fringe to make a swirling whirlwind of mildly psychedelic techno.

Lunatic Fringe is released on 10 September through Visionquest​