Germany’s Denise Rabe has joined Blacklabel Distillery with a new four-track 12", including remixes from Perc and Svreca. The digital release contains two further electrifying tracks. Dark and hypnotic, the Outa Body EP offers us a glimpse into the distinctive sound Rabe has made for herself.
Title track “Outa Body” keeps the pace up with a relentless, driving bassline, whilst slowly building drones and merciless percussive moments layer over each other to create an atmospheric and slightly dystopian soundscape. Spectral and shadowy, “Outa Body” sets the tone for the rest of the EP. “Brilliance” lends some of the spookier elements from “Outa Body,” applying them over a broken, bouncy bassline to provide a hybrid mix that sounds like no other. Cleverly winding synths make “Brilliance” a deep, sinister track that was made for those still standing at the after hours.
Perc’s remix of “Outa Body” slams us back into reality, upping the intensity by numerous levels. Losing the air of transcendence and replacing it with fierce, mechanical malfunctions and heavier percussion, it’s hard to believe the two tracks are linked. In true Perc fashion, he’s taking no prisoners with this one — it’s not for the timid. Svreca steps up on remix duties for “Brilliance” with a stripped back, simplistic take on things. Opting for a more four-to-the-floor approach, things are taken a million miles away from Rabe’s original; the track is given a life of its own. Though it sounds uncomplicated, sometimes less can be more.
The EP contains two digital-only tracks, which serve as the icing on the cake here. “Fully In” is a cosmic exploration, layering swirling, shimmering synths over a rolling, ever-so-slightly acid tinged bassline to transport us to another planet. Dizzying stuff. “Spacetrouble” brings things to a hair-raising close, supplying an other-worldly, highly eerie sonic environment.
Outa Body can be streamed and purchased via Bandcamp.
