Despite being one of the most consistent producers out there (or perhaps because of?), Dave Huismans has never really shocked me. Over the years his music has slowed down, embraced and disengaged 4/4 kick patterns, and generally gotten deadlier — and I’ve eagerly snatched each missive and rinsed it to death — but he’s never strayed terribly far from his well-honed sound. “Take The Plunge” doesn’t really stray that far either, but the first time I heard it I was rather taken aback, wondering, “Is that seriously the hook?” Where 2010’s “Alarm” was goofy, the focal point of “Take the Plunge” is downright preposterous, but leave it to Huismans to get chromatic stuttering stuck in your head for weeks. Surrounded by drunken warehouse-sized bass drums and murky low end, it’s easily one of A Made Up Sound’s most crucial productions to date.
The B-side is no slouch either, as “Anger Mgmt” stumbles into each subsequent measure determined to induce four-to-the-floor jacking, but with too severe a case of delirium tremens to do so. It’s cosmetically a more reserved gem whose awkward rhythmic sensibilities make it stand out amidst a sea of DJ fodder, sounding almost as if Huismans had tried to make a straight techno tune but his machines were fed one too many gin and tonics to properly execute. The A-side’s “First Thought” grabs those skipping millisecond slices and pairs them with rapid-fire percussion for what would sound like a jackhammer to the ear canal were it not so playful. So while Huismans has proven time and again that he’s more than capable of making really good dance tracks, it’s these moments of playfulness that separate his good tracks from his really great tracks. File this one next to “Rear Window” and prepare for it to stay in your bag for a long time.
i think this is the best a made up sound 12″ so far.
I don’t quite understand this line of thought (here and in the RA review) about 2562/AMUS’s music not standing out or shocking you, although I should say that this one makes a lot more sense because (I assume) you’re talking about his music in the context of only his music and not in the context of the wider, non-definable, highly watered down scene he’s associated with.
Personally, I think he’s one of the most inventive and distinctive producers working right now and tracks like Winamp Melodrama, Unbalance, Flavour Park Jam, This Is Hardcore, Rear Window etc. are pretty fucking out there. I do agree with you that he has his own sound that he hasn’t strayed too far from since the Unbalance LP(it’s more a specific mood than sound to me), but considering there isn’t really anyone else out there who sounds like him (I guess Objekt comes closest?) and the fact that he’s created some idiosyncratic gems within these loosely defined parameters, it feels like his music is taken for granted and set to a ridiculously high standard when every other “post dubstep” producer is now either making Burial/Joy Orbison knockoffs or retro-fetishist house and electro and getting away with it.
Also, I can’t really think of too many producers who have ever shocked me, much less on a consistent basis. I guess Scuba shocked me with Adrenalin last year, but that was not a good shock.
PS – I should say that I enjoyed the actual review of the tracks themselves though.
[…] “Retribution” [Swamp81] 07. Claro Intelecto, “Second Blood” [Delsin] 08. A Made Up Sound, “Take The Plunge” [A Made Up Sound] 09. DVS1, “Evolve” [Hush] 10. Objekt, “Cactus” [Hessle […]
[…] a gimmick, they are the essential component of Air Jordan‘s colorful surroundings. Recently I noted that while he is himself a distinctive producer, Huismans’ records don’t seem to ever […]