Blondes cover

Blondes

Released

As dance music exploded in fragments in the early 10s — the relentless stimulation and blinding dayglo laser colours of EDM, US dubstep and future bass leaving us dazzled and baffled — a tendency arose that went back to basic values. It was about a never ending four-to-the-floor kick drum at the lower end of house’s tempo range — or even slower — with chugging percussion and riffs / arpeggios layered up with dubwise echo to create something gorgeously hypnotic and rewarding to the patient. It was most associated with the UK, with Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston’s A Love From Outer Space sessions the epicentre and names like Cottam and Tusk Wax prime proponents. But maybe the defining album of this style came from a duo who met in Ohio. The stark black and white artwork and single word tracks show just how about-their-business Sam Haar and Zach Steinman are: each time, the track begins, it chugs, it hypnotises, it stops. Yet they demonstrate each time just how much richness there is in the template — once you step into this world of dancefloor mesmerism, you realise it’s as many-splendoured and as colourful as any flashier style.

Joe Muggs

Recommended by

Suggestions
Where You Are cover

Where You Are

Teno Afrika
Acid Tablets Volume One cover

Acid Tablets Volume One

Jack The Tab, Psychic TV
Connection cover

Connection

The Maghreban
Offworld cover

Offworld

Special Request, The Grid
Back to Prison cover

Back to Prison

Bang the Party
Full Circle cover

Full Circle

Jaki Liebezeit, Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble
Unpatterns cover

Unpatterns

Simian Mobile Disco
Ammnesia cover

Ammnesia

Mr. Fingers
In Waves cover

In Waves

Jamie xx