Batu from Bristol is someone for whom the hackneyed attribute »ear to the pulse of the times« can be taken out of the moth box with a clear conscience. If you want to know what you’ll be tying your legs into knots to on the dance floor tomorrow, you should shuffle through the catalog of his nearly ten-year-old label Timedance – a stylistically confident port of call for danceable oddities. That Batu knows what he’s talking about is also evident on his latest EP. On the four tracks, he uses all the tools he comes across in his label work and concentrates them into club music that is both dark and euphoric at the same time.
The only question is why the opener is called »Question Mark,« because nothing seems uncertain here. The menacing, flickering structure of the shaky, bleeping track goes straight to the brain. On »Clump,« Batu slows the tempo and incorporates dubstep elements that sound like they are tripping over their own feet, while the bass knows exactly what to do. Things get a lot faster with »Seize,« which thrives on nervous energy and keeps the tension high with microscopic eruptions. Finally, »Meridian« is dominated by hectic drums that stoically go about their business, while a technoid stomper slowly but surely builds and delivers the grand finale just before the ten-minute mark. The only question that remains is the question mark: Why is it all over so quickly?
Question Mark
