[Hessle Audio]

From dub to jungle, Bristol remains a city with a much larger impact on music than its rather small stature might suggest. Back in 2007 it was at the vanguard of dubstep — a sound that, in the hands of Bristolians like Pinch and Appleblim, presented a more techno-focused visage with the help of Berliners from T++ to Ricardo Villalobos. Labels like Skull Disco and Tectonic pushed the geographic boundaries of dubstep far past south London, and co-conspirators based elsewhere in the UK (such as Hessle Audio and Hotflush) lent their own stylistic flourishes. Lately, however, much of what comes out of Bristol has overstepped, both musically via bland tech-house, and geographically (I cannot think of a more Ibiza-friendly recent track than Julio Bashmore’s “Au Seve”). Of course, not every producer needs to wear their city’s influence on their sleeves, but Peverelist and Kowton do admirably, continuing a long tradition of bass-bin rattling and broken rhythmic experimenting.

It may surprise some that this is Kowton’s first appearance on Hessle and only Pev’s second, as all parties involved have explored similar sonic territories for a couple years now; Kowton’s grime turns on his own Pale Fire label were contemporary with Pearson Sound’s. “Raw Code” sounds right at home, with grainy synth sounds and crushed tambourines sitting on top while triplet kick drums and submarine bass tones keep dancers’ feet firmly grounded. It worked wonders in Ben UFO’s Fabriclive 67 but sounds even better on its own, breathing and shuffling like some of the best sides on Livity Sound or Punch Drunk. B-side “Junked” is no slouch either, its harsh early-electronic synth blasts haunting a measured, heads-down beat track. Unbelievably, 2013 is Hessle Audio’s seventh year of existence, but that they’re starting it off in such a strong fashion is no surprise at all.