- On the surface, Pinch and Roska never seemed like obvious bedfellows for collaboration: Bristol-based proponent of dread-filled 140 BPM music versus the UK funky first-waver's colourful broken house. Nonetheless, 2011's "Paranormal Activity" occupied a surprisingly successful (if relatively obvious) middle ground, setting Roska's distinctive snare cascades adrift above a chasmic void of sub-bass.
Instead of repeating the same trick, "Shoulda Rolla" goes deeper and moodier, its blast furnace sub-bass dragged along by sparse hand-struck drums and chimes that recall the barely-controlled mania of early Shackleton. They successfully paper over the divide between each producer's contributions, making it pleasingly difficult to pick apart who brought which ideas to the table. However, this approach also masks their respective idiosyncrasies, ensuring that despite its heavyweight genesis, the track feels slightly more generic than you might expect.
Roska's solo cut "Asbestos," on the other hand, is excellent. It's the most stripped-back his music has been since that still-ferocious run of early Funky 12-inches in 2008, but he's never sounded this sinister. With its lightning snares coasting on a fat cushion of sub-bass, it's closer to dubstep tempo than house, souring his usual bounding melodies with fizzy dissonance. Even his characteristic "ROSKA!" vocal ident is delivered differently, the usual friendly yelp replaced with a snakelike hiss.
Tracklist A Pinch & Roska - Shoulda Rolla
B Roska - Asbestos