I’m not sure what your plans are for the 1st of April, but I can tell you what Juan and co. are going to be doing. We’re going to be copping the forthcoming SPXXDSTA (Pronounced Speedsta) Motion EP out on Nottingham’s finest Canopus Records.
For those not aware of Canopus, now’s the time to get acquainted. Affiliated with some of the scenes’ most exciting underground producers, only big things are going to come from these guys in the future.
Prior to this EP landing in the inbox I wasn’t too aware of SPXXDSTA and this is what Canopus does best, providing a platform for those heavyweight producers yet to breakthrough. Hailing from Nottingham, SPXXDSTA is one of those producers with incredible versatility when it comes to building tunes. Tracks on his soundcloud, particularly his remix of fellow Nottingham based Ella Knight’s ‘Mind Games’ (An ethereal masterpiece in its own right) showcase his flexibilty and ability to diverge from the shadier sounds presented in the Motion EP.
As a label dedicated to the darker side of soundsystem music, I can’t think of a better home for the Motion EP than Canopus. Spread across three tracks, the whole EP evokes darkside qualities designed for those misty and moody dancefloors. If Darth Vader was a DJ, I can guarantee his sets would feature at least one of these tracks.
This is one of those releases where its nigh on impossible to choose a stand out track, the curation of the EP is on point and each of the tracks feed perfectly into one another. Each tune is characterised by haunting pads superbly blended with juicy low end, reminiscent of Kryptic Minds back in their heyday, guaranteed to get heads nodding.
It’s often said that when it comes to dubstep, an effective use of space is what separates the big tracks from the less effective ones, and Spxxdsta has got this honed across all three tracks. None of the tracks are too busy, leaving the perfect amount of room for subbass fuelled meditations.
Personally, I’m a huge sucker for unique sounding hard-hitting snare drums, and the snares in ‘Rival’ and ‘Zoom’ get 100% full Juan certification. ‘Rival’ is almost driven by its snare which occupies the all too rare space of being both percussive and synth-esque, it almost sounds like someone hitting an electric fence with a big stick (Juan does not recommend such behaviour). In contrast to the snare driving the rhythm in ‘Rival’, the snare in ‘Zoom’ is a perfect example of how to stagger the beat and get the broken ‘step’ synonymous with the dubstep sound.
I tend not to dwell on the name of EPs, but in this case it’s definitely worth mentioning how fitting the title is. The successive tracks definitely create a sense of motion. Starting off with ‘Rival’, you’ve got an eyes down head-nodder, followed by ‘Shady’ with its steppy percussion that’ll definitely motivate a slightly more active skank and finishing with the fiercely low-ended ‘Zoom’ which will have your subwoofer wobbling like Juan after a burrito.
If you’re a fan of older Jack Sparrow, Kryptic Minds or V.I.V.E.K releases then this EP is an instacop.
The Motion EP will be available for purchase on the 1st of April 2018 from Junodownload and Amazon:
https://www.junodownload.com/products/spxxdsta-motion-ep/3708359-02/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motion-EP-Spxxdsta/dp/B07BGZRQBY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521996251&sr=8-2&keywords=spxxdsta
Spxxdsta:
https://soundcloud.com/spxxdsta
https://www.facebook.com/Spxxdsta/
Canopus:
https://soundcloud.com/canopusrecordsuk
https://www.facebook.com/canopusrecords/