If you haven’t already, LA-born Berlin-based artist Steve Huerta is a name that you will be coming across much more in the near future. Huerta has already turned out for some top labels and has recently added the likes of Slow Life, Oscillat Music, and Small Hours to his CV and he continues to bolster his impressive rap sheet with his recent ‘Ayo Skidlo’ EP for Dutch crew SlapFunk Records.
All 5 tracks on the EP are great but it is the combination of dub house elements and high energy on title track ‘Ayo Skidlo’ that really lit the fuse for us. As with much of Huerta’s productions, they radiate an easy cool swagger that dips into just the right part of the soul where deep moods and peak time groove meet. Urgent drum fills, classy piano chords and some nice delays on the percussion help spreads the track out and fills out all the small holes in the mix giving such a rounded dynamic picture. One word that springs to mind with this track and its ‘timeless’, the nod to old school house, dubby house, dub techno and a smattering of garage is a period in music that just doesn’t seem to age and Huerta has managed to meld these influences together very well.
Not to say that the rest of the release is not just as hot, because it is straight-up fire. Leading out the EP on A1 is ‘Tatra Motokov’, an electro leaning space houser in a similar vein to some of Oshana’s earlier work. The upfront bounding bassline and of course the stunning melodies found in the musical elements work so well with the pounding beats. Huerta’s penchant for the old school house sound of the past make another appearance on A2 ‘Kollecta’ and will fit right into the SlapFunk Records stable of tracks.
Flipping over to B1 and ‘Explorateur’ takes a decidedly breakbeat direction while retaining the spacey sound effects and fine-tuned basslines that litter this release. Completing the release on B3 track ‘Buzz Off Like’ is Huerta’s take on loungin’ garage with an intergalactic twist and the results are just as sublime as described. This one is for those late-night sessions or early day 3 after-party vibes. SlapFunk Records were right to snap this EP up as Huerta is an artist that is very much on the rise and if releases of this caliber continue to flood out of his studio who knows where you might find him in a few months’ time.
Ahead of the release date on Monday, August 17th Huerta’s ‘Ayo Skidlo’ EP is available for pre-order at subwaxbcn.com.
More info on Huerta
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More info on SlapFunk Records
Facebook | Resident Advisor | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Discogs
