#usky006

Slaven is a young producer with mature sounds, a solid release with Iron Shirt Recordings in the form of his ‘Sacrificial’ EP, placing his potential in the limelight of new producers and leaving us riveted, waiting on the edge of our seats for his next release. As fate would have it, this producer from Cambridge is releasing a new monster on the 13th of August, with Undersky Records; ‘USKY006,’ the ‘Raindance/Kozu,’ EP. ‘Raindance’ Slaven takes no prisoners with this track; from the first few seconds you can make out what sounds like a Native American voice chanting ‘raindance,’ in conjunction with subtle percussion slowly rising in volume, which transports the listeners in a sort of time capsule and throws them into the midst of a Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, turquoise feathers, raging fires, and the prospect of one mighty thunderstorm. One last chant of ‘raindance’ is heard and all hell breaks loose in an amalgamation of tribal fury and growling synths fading in and out in the background.  In the mid-section of the track, the listeners are granted temporary peace from the ritual, until the onslaught of pounding drums returns in an even more menacing pattern, culminating into a soundscape that is praiseworthy of any producer. ‘Kozu’ Kozu begins in a similar note, but the ritualistic element is imbued with something more sinister and threatening. The slowly rising hi hat pattern and increasingly intricate percussion as the track progresses is a testament to Slaven’s musicianship, and the patience that many producers seem to lack today. Guttural growls and resonant snares coupled with a distant bell give extra space to the track and allow it to breathe, as well as pummel the listener. After the second ‘drop,’ the percussion flies by with the sound of an arrow whishing by, syncopated with the sub, combining chest thumping, prodigious low end and soaring high end, all with pinpoint accuracy and without overdoing it.