UPFRONTBEATS

Alex Arnout’s Dogmatik starts off 2018 with a firing EP from label debutants Outstrip that offers four subterranean dance floor bombs.

Outstrip is Ukrainian pair Denis Borisov & Anton Severinenko and their stripped back, bass heavy productions come on labels like Rejected and Artreform, Stil Vor Talent and Lapsus Music. They have a functional sound that boasts muscular drums, crisp claps and evocative chords, and that’s exactly the deal here.

The excellent ‘A1’ shows off the pair’s knack for programming tight, pummelling house kicks that rumble away beneath the sci-fi chords. It’s a meaty, warm track for making basements sweat and manages to be both deep yet driving. The slick ‘NeproEP’ is more loose and fluid, with wobbly synths and jostling drums bringing a more silky and seductive groove. It’s head music with a serious bottom end that burrows late into the night with some subtle little vocals stitched into the arrangement.

On the flip side, ‘Peremay’ ups the ante with a quick and urgent track that is part techno, part house, part minimal. Swirling pads bring a dream-like, tripped out feel as dusty breakbeats flutter down low and suspend you in space. Last of all, ‘Rastafara’ gets busy with gliding hits, airy hi hats and knotted drums that dip down low and will surely find their way straight into the record bags of esteemed DJs like Zip and Craig Richards.

These are four peak time, dubbed out beats that are true to the Dogmatik sound.

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