It’s that time of year again; Hudson Mohawke is dropping new material. And everyone’s excited.
After revealing the title track in July, HudMo finally released his Chimes EP Monday September 29 on Warp Records. The four-track EP is testament to the Glaswegian producer’s constant evolving (and incredibly diverse) sound. However, it’s not quite as compelling as his production on the ‘Cruel Summer’ album, nor his work last year with Drizzy and Pusha.
To begin with ‘Chimes’, a track that was first discovered by HudMo fans in some of his sets a few years ago, the world has finally got an official release, following a feature on an Apple advert this summer, which turned out to be an ingenious promotional technique. A typical HudMo tune at heart, the simple drum pattern drops into brooding horn synths delivering a post-apocalyptic-sounding Trap beat. The Ep also offers (perhaps aptly) an edit of this track from fellow Scot and UK hard dance producer DJ Gammer.
The second track ‘Brainwave’ premiered on Benji B’s BBC Radio 1 show in September and left many in the SoundCloud comment section asking
‘Where’s the f*****g drop?’
There isn’t one. And that’s the beauty of this track. Almost an interval (if ever a four-track EP needed one), ‘Brainwave’ serves as a dream-like sequence, exploring both early years of the artist and kind melodic rifts that eventually fizzle out as the track unwinds. ‘Brainwave’ is followed by ‘King Kong Beaver’, a track that employs the sounds of the videogame world, and sits somewhere between Ikonika and Rustie in its production.
Chimes EP is a fun solo project, with a strong title-track and amusing artwork. Its critique lies in suggesting HudMo’s production works better in HipHop. Past collaborative projects with R.Kelly and Yeezy (To the World/ Blood on the Leaves) serve as evidence for this. But HudMo has perhaps made a welcome return to his (post-DJ ITCHY) roots with Chimes and true HudMo fans won’t mind hearing less US Rap and more Scottish horn in his latest release.
Check out the title-track on the Macbook Air Stickers advert below.
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