Australia’s beloved underground Subsonic Music Festival is certainly on a roll this year. Soon they’ll celebrate their milestone 10th year anniversary with another fun fuelled weekend of nature, art and music at the picturesque Riverwood Downs locale in NSW. Around 180 local and international artists will soundtrack a straight 72hrs of festivities. Its become an annual ritual for Sydney siders and interstate music lovers alike, with punters revelling in the magic and mystery of 5 incredible stages. Subs also have their finger on the pulse of production talent here in Australia and recently launched the vinyl arm of their record label with a knockout release from Sydney local Venda, remixed by Archie Hamilton. Upping the ante with their second 12” release, they employ the skills of Melbourne based artist Dylan Griffin, who together with fellow Aussie Chad B deliver a rollicking minimal house groove alongside remixes by maestro Alexkid & the critically acclaimed Monika Ross.
A side opener and premiere cut ‘Highly Swing’ is a snappy minimalist house groove that pits echoed rhythmic flurries against swirling pad strokes. A tight hi hat and snare combo keeps things upbeat and bouncy and lays the groundwork for some wonderfully hypnotic moments, as white noise rises slowly to the steady thrum of sub bass hues. A class cut that will definitely do the damage on the dance floor.
A flip the the B side sees veteran minimal producer Alexkid take the bassline for a funky walk, beefing up the low end and letting it ride inside a barrelling 4/4 groove. Short, pad sweeps create a fastidious atmosphere as heavily delayed synth stabs build a brilliant tension before the break. A super fun cut that’ll furrow eyebrows for all the right reasons. Finally the now Berlin based Monika Ross puts her trademark spin on the original, with a stunning combo of liquid deep, oceanic pads and a swinging high hat and snare combo. The cut floats effortlessly on top of a bumping baseline hook, turning its tricks to the bubble of electronic artefacts and fluttering key notes.
Safe to say thats 2/2 from the Subsonic crew, with more on the horizon soon we hope.
