- Ah, the Dutch dubsteppers and their area codes! For the fourth release on his 3024 imprint (the area code for Rotterdam) label owner Martyn has enlisted two tunes from Dave Huismans, AKA 2562 (The Hague). (For the sake of full disclosure, I should probably mention that this review is being written in 9711 (Groningen)).
Huismans delivers two hard-to-pin-down tunes, which are likely to be typecast by the pundits as some sort of dubstep-techno hybrid. "Embrace" is an ethereal little number, shimmering pads float over a multilayered rhythm and synth stabs that crackle and sizzle as if they have just been welded together in an arcane dub-techno furnace. The tune progresses, building up and releasing tension, stripping everything down to its essentials—the beats and the bass—before being once again embraced by the airy pads.
"Hijack" has a different feel altogether. A moodier atmosphere pervades, with a staccato midrange riff that rolls out over a hypnotically simple bassline and a four-to-the-floor techno beat. Echoing pings and stabs ring out around the track before a slowly evolving synth appears, which—at its peak—sounds like a computer squelching out an inaudible sermon over the pounding techno drive of the tune.
2562 further blurs the boundaries of genres with this release, subtly bringing together different elements, moods and styles. In the case of "Embrace" the result is like a flight through a cloudy sky while "Hijack" feels more like a train ride through an alien landscape. The former is the winner by an inch, its sombre mood and intricate structure beating the momentum and raw drive of the latter.
TracklistA Embrace
B Hijack