Artist: Mella Dee / Subradeon
Title: Toe To Toe Vol. 1
Label: Hardgroove
Cat. #: Hardgroove030
Release Date: March 2020 (Vinyl)
Format: Vinyl / Digital
Tracklist:
- Mella Dee – 01302 (999 Mix)
- Mella Dee – 01302 (OG Mix)
- Subradeon – A New Sun Is Rising
- Subradeon – The Light
- Subradeon – I Am Capitalism (Digital Only)
Ben Sims’s Hardgroove imprint hits its 30th release and 20th year of operations with the beginning of a new split EP series entitled ‘Toe to Toe’, with Vol.1 provided by Mella Dee and Subradeon.
The UK’s Mella Dee has developed a strong rep for robust club sounds via his aptly titled Warehouse Music imprint in recent years while the Berlin-based Subradeon duo have been dropping slick Detroit influenced sounds for Motech, Rekids and their own eponymous imprint.
Mella Dee’s 999 Mix of his ‘01302’ (a reference to the dial-code of his home town, Doncaster) opens the EP in powerful fashion. A stark, gravelly stab stands alone for a good 90 seconds before a weighty, swung 909 drum track quite literally kicks the track along with very little else needed bar some judiciously applied sonic manipulation. Similarly minimal in its approach, the OG Mix of ’01302’ is a little less raw with added melodic flourishes but continues the hefty theme of its predecessor in fine style.
Subradeon’s ’A New Sun is Rising’ opens the B-side with a cast-iron, bumping groove littered with staccato synth hits and overlapping vocal samples culminating in the titular refrain drop making for a memorable take on classic sounds. ‘The Light’ closes out the 12” with tripping leads and a heady, late night feel before a digital only cut, ‘I Am Capitalism’ provides one last rowdy, pounding groove.