Bleep

‘Not Modular’ caught the attention of many when it surfaced in Mr. Mitch’s ‘Techno Dancehall’ mix for DJ Motive’s NTS show back in 2018. One of those who cottoned on was Kevin Martin, and after several months of pestering the man best-known as The Bug managed to convince Mitch to let him release it through his own Pressure Records.

The title track of the Not Modular EP remains a real head-turner, a short-circuiting slice of ragga that sounds like one of Equiknoxx’s samplers being dropped in the sea. There’s a pretty strong influence of Martin’s own music to ‘Not Modular’ - this technoid riddim wouldn’t sound out of place on London Zoo - and as such it’s no surprise to see Martin himself have a go at remixing ‘Not Modular’.

Working in Bug mode, Martin splits his versions two ways here. First up is the ‘Straight Mix’, a shuddering anarcho-dub juggernaut that laces Mitch’s twittering lead line with trailing atmospherics and gurgling sub frequencies. Blaring sirens and huge thwacks from the snare give this entry a real feeling of urgency. The ‘Raw Mix’ descends deeper into the fog, with delay and reverb almost swallowing up the drums. This is Martin at his most dastardly, making dubs designed to push bass bins to their limit.

This union of soundsystem killers Mr. Mitch and Kevin Martin produces the bassweight masterclass that we all hoped it would.