Hudson Mohawke: Butter
Hudson Mohawke: Butter
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Friday, 16, Oct 2009 11:26
Warp, out October 26th.
In a nutshell...
Ambient aqua rave on home of all things bleep
What's it all about?
Butter is the long-awaited debut full lengther from Glasgow's Hudson Mohawke. Blogs and interweb hype merchants have been crafting a delicious layer of anticipatory froth in the run up to its emergence. Hudson's rep is strong enough to justify a number of performances alongside Warp greats at this years series of Warp20 parties - He's spent the year sharing bills and beers with Andrew Weatherall, Squarepusher, Forgemasters and !!! - Enuff said.
Who's it by?
Hudson Mohawke aka has been a name on the lips of readers of electronica-loving freaks since his crunking reworking of Tweets' R 'n' B stomper Oops, got leftfield hips shaking just over two years ago. A DMC champ in love with Prince (and on the verge of spawning new genre - Purple) he's emerged from the same gnarly Lucky Me clan as fellow Scot and genius Rustie. If you were being po-faced about it, you argue that the future of Warp's bleep heritage rests in his mitts as the label celebrates its 20th year
Likelihood of winning a trip to the Grammys?
Nae chance mate. Unless loving buckfast, drill core, R 'n' B and redefining electronic sounds capes means full mantle pieces. Who cares.
What the others say
"Showcasing his stuttering spin on hip-hop beats, 23-year-old Glaswegian producer Ross Birchard, who records as Hudson Mohawke, demonstrates no shortage of ideas and energy on Butter." - Pitchfork
As an example...
"We ain't trying to play no games with you, we just want to get inside of you/Can you dig it?" - Tell Me What You Want From Me feat. Dam - Funk
So is it any good?
Along with fellow Scot Rustie, Hudson is arguably one of the few new acts Warp have signed in recent years to step up as the next standard bearer of their heritage of all things which bounce and bleep. The shadows of electronic giants Aphex, Modeselektor, Timbaland and Burial can be heard drinking in the corners of Butter - but despite these vague landmarks on the musical map Hudson traverses, it's a genuinely fresh sounding direction all his own making. Clapped-out computers, tumbling beats and biblical menace cross stitched with warm melodies, a side helping of rave, groinal funk and a perverse sense of the unjust make up the 16 tracks. All of which is underpinned by a love of Prince.
Gluetooth, Fruit Touch and Trykk take wonky ambience and shove a handful of dancing beans up its bottom while Zoo00OOm resembles Chris Morris and a wasp getting all snugglely in a jam jar. Shower Melody and Twistclip Loop doff their cap to dubstep but give the genre a sharp kicking in the nads with lo-fi bovver boots while the unions with Olivier Daysoul verge on Jamie Lidell levels of techno-soul. Swallowed whole it's an ear-inspiring amalgamation of all Warp level sonics future, past and present trussed up like a electronic chicken in Hudson's aural circuitry.
Stuff Maximo Park - it's awe inspiring to hear Warp entering its 20th year and continuing to work with genuine mavericks again. Your ears may not get the chance to hear another album like this all year. Don't let them down.
9/10
Jim Ottewill