Unknown
uu014
unknown - untitled
In a time where journalists and fans alike generally spend far more time analyzing artists than the actual music they make, the unknown - untitled label deserves some credit for effectively taking that option off the table. With its sixth birthday coming up later this year, the UK outpost continues to put out records without revealing who produced the tunes they contain (or even sharing the track titles), a move that A) must make the promotional process extremely difficult and B) flies in the face of an increasingly parasocial and personality-driven culture.
In fairness, the IDs of the artists are eventually made public—usually after most or all of the vinyl copies of a release have been sold—and the mystery that precedes the big reveal does prompt internet sleuths to do their thing. An enterprising Discogs user has already declared that uu014 is in fact called the No Lighter EP, and was made by Australian producer Trustee. Is that true? I’m not sure, but whoever’s responsible for the record has delivered a potent six-back of swinging, bass-loaded bangers.
Declaring allegiance to the syncopated swagger of UK garage, opening cut “a1” practically prances its way across the dancefloor, but it does so while dropping a low-end hammer, unfurling wubby basslines that recall the early days of dubstep. Back in the early 2000s, those genres were in more direct conversation with one another, and grime—which rears its head via the growling womp and flip phone chirps of “a2”—was also in the mix. Yet uu014 offers more than a nostalgia trip. The elastic synths of “b3” bring to mind the rave acrobatics of Verraco, and the high-stepping “b1,” which features a galloping beat and a string of seductive, Spanish-language vocal clips, resides in similar territory.
On the whole though, uu014 is a largely UK-coded affair, with “b2” tapping into the percussive spirit of funky and “a3” bolstering its serrated bass attack with police sirens and dancehall-style toasting. All six tunes on the record are more than capable of riling up the club, and though we’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out exactly who made them, smart DJs in need of some fresh heat will pick up a copy of the record long before then.