Krampfhaft - Makin' Magic EP [RWINA014] by Rwina Records

Releasedate: September

The newest release on Rwina comes from Krampfhaft from the label’s homeland of the Netherlands. With only two releases on Hamburg label Saturate to his name, Krampfhaft Rwina debut marks his highest profile release to date, and the Makin’ Magic EP is appropriately, well, big. The Utrecht producer has a synth-heavy sound that’s defined more by its impeccable polish and spacious echo chambers than the kind of ultra-compressed grime pyrotechnics or the filigree rhythm programming for the agile rollers proffered by Rwina recently, but the four tracks here retain the sense of colourful mischief that remains Rwina’s calling card.

Makin’ Magic figures Kramphaft somewhere in between high-tempo hijinks and plastic soul future garage. “I Needed You” and “Carl Sagan The Man” both run at tempos far beyond even the fastest of dubstep variations. “I Needed You” sends stuttering rimshots careening across the horizon, as Krampfhaft layers his whining synths that alternate between shrieks and shudders, as if every so often he’s sticking a rod in between the blindingly fast spokes. “Carl Sagan The Man” explicitly recalls footwork with its slam-and-stop percussive attack and hypnotically winding vocal loops, but it’s again saturated with those hyperventilating synths that take the sometimes-apocalyptic feel of tracks by Spinn and Rashad and turns it into a level of alarm and hysteria that approaches the cartoonish.

The lower tempo tracks are more familiar concoctions: “Hyper Dreaming” is a rather pastel take on the kind of garage and 2step mutations you could expect coming out of producers like Roof Light or Jack Dixon, it has this rather muscular and swung beat with futuristic synth strokes which garners a guaranteed reaction on any dancefloor. The EP closes with its title track, a histrionic ballad full of heartsick synths and chords that swoon dangerously low before swooping back up, leaving behind resplendent trails of melody, and the boasting vocal sample, drenched in reverb, is elevated to near-religious proclamation amidst all the aural drama. It’s an appropriately auspicious release for a Rwina debut, and marks an exciting and sufficiently weirdo addition to an already wonderfully dysfunctional family.

The digi release will come with an extra tune titled 'Faux Art', more details about that any time soon.

Released by: Rwina Records | www.rwinarecords.com
Release/catalogue number: RWINA014