Deadman

Making a splash in the mid-2000s London Dubstep scene, even Sam Shackleton's earliest tracks established the unique psychedelic tribal style of a man operating on his own wavelength. While the impressive amount of detail in his signature percussion style might not always lend itself to the dance floor, Shackleton has always backed it up with impressive bass weight, à la contemporaries Skream and Digital Mystikz. His high-minded low-end journey began though, with the founding of the Skull Disco label with partner Appleblim. Both quickly became legends, but their paths soon diverted, Appleblim becoming well-established with his own label, Apple Pips, while Shackleton's cosmic trajectory has taken him entirely past Dubstep and on to Berlin, where he has released on Perlon and London's Fabric, with many remixes on other Techno labels. Just recently he dropped his first release on his new imprint, Woe to the Septic Heart.

"Original Deadman" leads off the record of the same title. A distant relative of its zombie cousin heard on the preceding plate, here the percussion is mixed forward and the accompaniment back, keeping the groove front and center and in the pocket for a more dance floor-friendly track that should find enthusiastic DJ support for fans of his idiosyncratic style. Remix responsibilities here are both handed to Kevin Martin, first under his collaborative project King Midas Sound and then for a solo effort as The Bug. Unsurprisingly, the "King Midas Death Dub Remix" foregrounds atmosphere by adding a female vocal and layers of static haze in a dub-based framework which essentially serves as an extended lead-up to the next track while keeping with the King Midas Sound ethos. On his own "Crackle Remix," The Bug delivers the dance floor goods in a similarly hazy and static driven context. Backed up by an insistent drum and bass riff and eighth note hats, the heady, heavy atmosphere remains intact and adds fuel to the fire, building throughout the 5-minute duration before it collapses in the lead-out.