Last Magpie - Encounters (HYPEDIGI047) [clip] by Hypercolour

Last Magpie, AKA Craig McNamara (and one half of bass heavy beat freaks, Mak & Pasteman) returns to Hypercolour with a four track EP that explores a deeper, IDM sound to his ever-expanding repertoire. ‘Separation’ fizzes with analog white noise and distorted drums whilst a trance-inducing riff acts as the wormhole to a bygone era of driving Berlin techno sounds, the melancholic strings further enhancing this classic sound design. ‘Silver’ packs a melodic punch; deft keys and chords that are oceans deep create a track full of emotion and harmony as the unyielding beats keeps this dusty deep houser firmly in the groove. Flexing some techno chops, ‘Encounters’ marries celestial vibes and spatial melodies to a thumping and bass driven beat. Think midday on Tresor’s hallowed dancefloor after a long nights session and you’re nearly there, stirring stuff from Last Magpie. Closing this stellar release is ‘UTLD3’, another meaty technoid jam but with a restrained tempo. Bass slapping over metallic drums, industrial sized mallet percs and discordant horn blasts, there’s plenty of interesting dimensions at play here to hold the listener’s ear, and a cut that rounds off an exemplary release from one of Hypercolour’s favourites.