4 track 180gm vinyl 12" EP with remixes from The Fear Ratio and ETCH. Cover art from an original ink painting of Smudge by REQ, printed on reverse board.
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*digital EP no longer available
Beats and other music by REQ, with music samples and vocals by Smudge
The Fear Ratio Remix by Mark Broom & James Ruskin
ETCH Remix by Zak Brashill
Art by REQ
SR084
"A very welcome return." - Bleep
"REQ’s late ‘90s production work on WARP and Skint is some of the most underrated experimental hip-hop of the period, and after putting out some of his archives, Seagrave have tempted him back into the studio after almost two decades. And he still has his mojo. The two original tracks here have the dustiness and oddity of his early work, twisting ‘80s funk in the same way he twists the lines in his graf; but they also have more heft, more drama, more fun than before." - Joe Muggs, Best Electronic Music on Bandcamp, June 2020
Had it not been for Smudge, REQ doubts he would ever have started making music again. It's almost 20 years since his last vinyl release for WARP and if he was going to return to beat-making he said it would've had to have been inspired by his life work with his dearest friend and creative muse. This EP marks the pair's second collaborative recording following a couple of archival REQ releases over the last two years.
Remixes by The Fear Ratio (aka Mark Broom & James Ruskin) and ETCH (Zak Brashill) take to task the mischievous energy of the original tunes with a fresh set of bassline interventions. Upping the low end pressure with a brushed-steel repair of the title track's original scuffed textures, The Fear Ratio refract REQ's use of Clyde Stubblefield's og funky drummer break on 'Smudge's Coffee' through a heavily magnetised, stepping electro-harmony, while rising-talent and upcoming Moving Shadow signing ETCH takes 'Change le beat' back to Bronx kitchen basics with a properly old-school B-boy flip, harnessing just enough of THAT Peter Piper flicker of bells from Bob James' 'Take Me To The Mardi Gras' to reference things historically, yet which he keenly contemporizes over a perfectly poised and razor-sharp Reaktor-5 bass flex. Like JB said: "Bring on the juice."
Spawned from an event series, and featuring familiar names like Bergsonist & DJ Manny, this comp is a guide to the ’20s electronic scene. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 6, 2023