After a relatively quiet start to the year for Brighton born producer Etch he recently decided to spring back into action with his latest EP ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’.
In this latest release, Etch once again adopts his signature jungle influenced sound and brings us three new tracks. Here at TNG, we were keen to give this one a listen and share our thoughts…
The EP starts off with ‘TSATR’, its title track. This mellow number kicks off rather modestly, setting the scene with its slow, deep bassline and ominous vocals. At around the 1:30 minute mark, the track really kicks into its groove, expertly combining an offbeat drum pattern with intermittent cymbal strikes and a background organ to boot, whilst all the while still treating us to those perfectly timed ominous vocals.
At the track’s halfway point, we’re introduced to a bridge in which the beat breaks down to its fundamental components. After laying low for thirty seconds or so, Etch subsequently brings things back around to the main beat, but this time with just a little more spice. The overall tempo gets just that little bit quicker and the Ride cymbal gets just that little bit faster. It’s obvious that Etch’s aim with this one was to deliver a jungle inspired chillout track which listeners can kick back and relax to, and to be fair to him, he nailed it!
‘Waterfalls’ is of a similar mould to ‘TSATR’, however it feels more like a new and improved version of a familiar product. With an uncanny reminiscence to the intro of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Right Here, Right Now’ (you’ll understand when you hear it), this track offers everything its predecessor did, and more. Again, Etch manages to subtly give this track, “just enough”.
There’s almost an arrogance in the way that it appears effortless and not at all laboured. By the end of the track, you feel the snare picking up speed, yet it does so in a way so graceful and majestic, that you barely notice. By song’s final drop, you’re hooked. Every component of the track is blended together so well that your ears just want things to stay the same forever. To put it another way, the culmination of the track sees Etch hit the Goldilocks Zone: it’s just right.
The EP’s final track ‘The Scientists Breakology’ is much closer to that classic jungle cut. Its breakbeat feel and resonating bassline create an almost eerie sound which makes the listener feel strangely apprehensive and yet jovial at the same time. As well as this, Etch gives a nod to some of his other influences, expertly sampling Kurtis Blow’s 1980s hip hop classic, ‘The Breaks’. On the subject of vocals, though you don’t really feel like anything in particular is missing, you get the sense that this track would also work with an old school jungle emcee over the top, just like circa 1995 all over again.
‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’ well and truly gets TNG’s seal of approval. Etch has set the bar high for this year’s releases and I can’t wait to hear more from him. With backing from the likes of Leon Vynehall, Moxie and Data Transmission, you don’t just have to take it from us either! Give it a listen below!
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