Alley Cat is a London-based expat of over twenty years and a drum & bass veteran for a minimum of that lengthy, in addition to co-head of ESP Company and Kokeshi Data. She additionally simply began her personal radio present with KoolFM on RinseFM. If anybody is aware of how massive and unhealthy and darkish London will be, it’s Alley Cat. With all her business credit and connections, Alley Cat’s music has at all times been decidedly private to her personal style and she or he’s identified for not following traits. In a world the place pop D&B and dancefloor are bringing within the crowds, Alley Cat is completely satisfied to play her personal means, and she or he nonetheless has loads of takers: up to now yr alone she’s performed Let It Roll, Locus, Outlook UK, Ministry of Sound and Boomtown, simply to call the massive ones, and will likely be enjoying subsequent weekend at Solar and Bass and XOYO later in autumn. D&B veteran is a little bit of an understatement.
Alley Cat’s final chronological launch was the 2015 digital re-release on Offshore Recordings of a 2009 two-sided vinyl single referred to as “Candy Spot”/”Radiate” together with her good pal, the sadly lately handed dubstep and breakbeat producer, Vaccine. 2012 was her precise most lately produced launch on the Kokeshi Kompilation album with the snappy dubstep-and-hip hop-infused observe, “Don’t Edit Me.” Since then, she’s been targeted on all of the stuff listed above, nevertheless it appears she’s additionally been working away at her personal stuff lo these eleven years, via all of the adjustments to the business, the pandemic and all the opposite massive, unhealthy, darkish stuff in current historical past. To say this EP title is apt can be an understatement.
All that political writer posturing apart, it’s doubtless Alley Cat named her EP Massive Dangerous Darkish Metropolis as extra of an homage, or a minimum of as a nod to the vibes on stated EP. Massive, unhealthy, deep and darkish additionally appears to completely describe the sound she’s created right here, with a heavy give attention to deep bass sounds and deeper sound design. This isn’t the deep drum & bass that’s prevalent these days, however one thing extra clever and tribal, because the opening title observe makes instantly clear. With what appears like metal drum samples and an analog tom and snare creating the primary drums, the beat is available in at intervals through the intro earlier than filling in the primary observe with extra snappy snare ornamentations and a deep, darkish, primal bass word to floor every phrase. Emotive and rolling, there’s the slightest throwback to early breakbeat however there’s a lot innovation right here when it comes to composition audiences may miss it in the event that they blink.
Fortunately, the following observe, “Building Tune” units the report straight on the place Alley’s favors lie when it comes to sound combos. A straight up and down, amen-filled breakbeat observe of the best order, right here the artist merges old fashioned sounds, samples and vibes with trendy methods and sound design (and probably somewhat building noise from her personal home) to carry this oft-forgotten-nowadays model ahead to 2023. Nonetheless trippy, tribal and completely her personal, “Building Tune” can be cool to listen to blended with different genres, and provided that Alley self-describes her sound as “drum, bass, dubstep, no matter,” it doubtless will likely be sooner or later.
Our premiere for right now is the final observe on Massive Dangerous Darkish Metropolis, referred to as “Might Day.” The amen, Venetian Snares-style snare enjoyable is much more entrance and heart on this observe; the truth is it’s the primary function. Alley’s gone full ambient on this tune in the case of the upper registers, with sine wave synths swelling out and in of the observe because the construction is as soon as once more a backwards jungle/breakbeat combo that hearkens again to the inception of D&B. The heat of all these sounds put collectively is really like nothing else being launched proper now, and it’s clear that’s what this artist needs. The OG heads will acknowledge all of the samples of D&B and digital yore, however youthful audiences will see this observe for its innovation and clear manufacturing model. It’s actually all within the eye – or ear, on this case – of the beholder, and “Might Day” has one thing for each ear.
It appears an 11-year hiatus from manufacturing hasn’t dulled Alley Cat’s compositional senses, nor her sense of what she needs her sound to be. This artist is aware of what she’s about, each within the business and in her inventive expression. The Massive Dangerous Darkish Metropolis tends to demand that of its artists, and in Alley Cat’s case, it’s a end result that’s positively well worth the time it took to create.
Massive Dangerous Darkish Metropolis releases tomorrow, September 1 on Armory, a brand new label out of Sacramento. Click on right here to buy or stream beginning tomorrow and right here for hyperlinks to Alley Cat’s different tasks.
