- All available evidence would suggest that there's no form of electronic music that larger-than-life Ann Arbor polymath Todd Osborn isn't capable of turning his hand to. On his last EP, Michigan Dream, he nonchalantly took on jacking vocal house, dark techno, sunny Caribou-style pop and Rephlex-style braindance in the space of four tracks. Under his various aliases, he's tackled countless other styles.
This, his first release on Gerd Janson's Running Back label since 2007's Blingata EP, finds him proving his aptitude in yet another style: for-DJ-use-only beat tools. Opener "Beat A" is an intoxicating hail of cowbells, claps, hats, springy toms and a subtly forceful ribbon of bass. "Beatapella"'s frenzied vocal snippets and simmering mood also stand out, while "Beat B," "Beat C" and "Itshousetrumental" are well-constructed, more nakedly functional house percussion tools that'll make life easier for countless DJs.
TracklistA1 Beat A
A2 Beat B
A3 Beat C
B1 Beatapella
B2 Itshoustrumental