Bleep

As you may be able to tell from the title of this record, the third and final installment of Luke Vibert’s new run of Hypercolour LPs finds the prolific producer demonstrating his own ersatz combination of rave and hip-hop sounds. Of course, there has always been plenty of crossover between these two genres, and on Rave Hop Vibert manages to bring both together in a way that is at once respectful and playful.

By and large the ‘hop’ element here comes through in the beats and structure of these tunes. Tracks are helmed by the sort of crisp boom-bap breaks that have underpinned hip-hop for generations now. Vibert then spools these out to create rolling miniature MPC-symphonies - like DJ Shadow, Nightmares On Wax or any of those beloved early Ninja Tune releases, these cuts forego MCs to foreground rhythm and sound.

However, the rest of Rave Hop’s sonic palette draws very much from the early days of dance music culture. In their looped vocals, subby basslines and stabbing chord progressions, many of these tracks come off like after-hours renditions of classic jungle/hardcore tunes. Other moments opt for the more muted tones of deep house - check the woozy keyboards that slouch all over ‘Hot Fingers’ on this front.

The fun, upbeat Rave Hop finds Luke Vibert blending hip-hop savvy with the sounds of rave in a witty yet reverent fashion.