Bleep

The two tracks that form the core of Planted, the latest EP from Raime (Joe Andrews, Tom Halstead), are also its liveliest. ‘Ripli’ and ‘Kella’ both scuttle along at around 160-bpm - footwork tempo to some of you, jungle speed to others. However, these tracks don’t really sit comfortably in either camp, though the ghosts of both can be felt in the whirligig beats and humming low-ends. Instead, in the way that their rhythms rush onward in breathless fashion, the genre that ‘Ripli’ and ‘Kella’ most immediately bring to mind is the Singeli style made popular by Nyege Nyege Tapes’ Sounds Of Sisso compilation.

The way that Raime conjure pensive atmospheres on ‘Ripli’ and ‘Kella’ also draws from the Bristolian soundsystem techno scene represented on labels like Timedance, Livity Sound and Idle Hands. This holds when the tempos are slowed down across Planted’s other entries ‘Num’ and ‘Belly’. With their arid synth tones and fluttering rhythms there’s a fair bit of Metrist’s ultra-wonky techno style to these off-kilter DJ tools. The recent Gobstopper Records run that has included work from Nikki Nair and BFTT also comes to mind.

Raime’s Planted EP contains some of the most distinctive and impressive music that the London duo have released to date.