With members from Newcastle and London, their disparate hometowns inform an eclectic, varied sound from Dub to Acid and just about everything in between. Rude Audio are a collective of producers, DJs and vocalists drawing together a colossal array of influences and passions.
Opening with a beautifully serene ambient piece that evokes the high points of AFX’s ‘Selected Ambient Works’ before the next track explodes into a romp through Roland TR-808 samples, drums and bass loops. The latter track must be an homage to 808 State and Altern8 and anyone else with an 8 in their name. But from then on the tempo’s slowed down to full blown Dub.
‘Lufbra Angel’ is a haunting, yet weirdly danceable lament of something I can’t for the live of me understand. It’s Dub in a wider sense, incorporating elements of Acid House and Techno in tracks like ‘Hippy House’ whilst still gently bobbing along in that bouncy but considered pace one would expect.
‘Wise Blood’ is another highlight, sounding like Massive Attack had they grown up in Kingston, Jamaica instead of Bristol. I haven’t heard such perfectly produced drums since the late nineties and I’m sure there’s a sample from ‘Helmut Mein Helmut’ by KMFDM in there. I’m probably wrong.
In a way, this album is sort of a collection of songs exploring the peripheries of Dub rather than solely a Dub record. There’s Breakbeat, Techno, Acid, Trip-Hop all vying for supremacy. And that’s only a positive thing; a reluctance to adhere to one genre or style has served a lot of artists well recently. Artists like Diplo, Modeselektor, Chrissy Murderbot and Christ-knows-who-else have all darted between a multitude of disparate influences to create something new that’s all their own. Potentially Rude Audio will be able to do the same and achieve the same levels of success and critical acclaim.
‘That Dirty Echo’ comes out November 14.
