[Warp Records]

Like any art form, music is expressive of culture. And since culture is so closely tied with geography, it’s not surprising that different styles of music have been identified by location over the years. Although it stretches back before this, you can see it in any examination of soul in the 60’s and 70’s, where Detroit soul and Motown, Memphis soul and Stax Records, the lively New Orleans scene, Chicago soul, Philadelphia soul, all represented vastly different takes on all the same basic sound. Certain cities have similar reputations as the cradles of well defined electronic styles as well, such as Chicago and New York house, Detroit and Berlin techno, Bristol’s reggae influenced scene, and Miami bass. One of the more recent cities to put their stamp on a common and vibrant sound is Glasgow, where the LuckyMe massive has been steadily pushing a psychedelic and colorful style of dance music. One of the best known musicians in the collective is Rustie, who has just released his first EP, Sunburst, for Warp Records, after a string of exciting EPs and remixes for a handful of respected labels.

The subdued pads and minimal drums that kick off “Neko” belie the monstrous synths and crashing beats that come bursting through. It’s a sweeping introduction to the sound of Rustie, where hip-hop might be the basis of the beats but the melodies have more in common with bombastic electro anthems. “Dragonfly” has been kicking around in Rustie mixes for a couple years, but it’s official release gives the three minute behemoth a fresh energy. The percolating bass line drives a juddering line through the track, with cut-up snippets of female vocals weaving throughout the song like cars in a race. The repeating moments of escalating high frequencies only heighten this sense of forward movement. Eschewing the bright and energetic for a moment, “Beast Nite” is a more melancholy track, its somewhat mournful melodies evoking the Baroque period while aggressive drum kit-pounding and chirping vocal bursts keep the track from dipping too far outside the party atmosphere.

“Chew” finds Rustie experimenting with a micro dissection of synth melodies, shifting multiple layers back and forth among minimal beats. “Hyperthrust” channels both dubstep and grime bass sounds in it’s frenetic and kaleidoscopic tour of electronic music in its scant run time. The melodies come on like the wildest seconds of a guitar solo stretched out, its bass burping and slapping with abandon. Even the digital-only “Starwolf” lives up to Rustie’s reputation for wildly eclectic live sets and releases. Sounding quite unlike anything else, the track is a stuttering workout of drum machines and syncopated synths that almost recall the early days of beat programming like Herbie Hancock and Art of Noise. Whether its on intense bangers like “Dragonfly” or contemplative experiments like “Beast Nite,” Rustie is pursuing a vision of music that upholds his Glasgow roots and paves his own hyper colorful path at the same time.