Back in May 2017 Annie Nightingale was prophetically talking about the strong future that Deadcrow had ahead of him. Now, little over two years after, I’m here on FUXWITHIT writing about how bright that future has become. Despite him being a top tier Wave master with a impressive list of classics of the genre in his repertoire (check here, here and here if your memory lacks), the dutch producer has never held back more dubstep and aggressive excursions. His latest EP, titled Transmission, fully embraces this pattern and comes as a further next step in the evolution of Deadcrow’s already futuristic sound.
The collection kicks off with the monumental ‘Drone.’ As I previously stated on Twitter, it’s hands down one of the most mental tracks of this already hot summer. Think about PEEKABOO’s ‘Babatunde‘ but deconstructed and processed inside a black hole, that’s how you can get something near ‘Drone’ level. The soft dubstep pace is well inserted in a rarefied Wave atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re floating in space “off the shoulder of Orion, watching c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhuser Gate”.
‘Street Shit,’ instead, stresses mainly the dubstep component, creating a dirty, gritty cyberpunk banger that however, in the middle and ending sections, throws into the fray melodic and melancholic soundscapes. Definitely effective live, but not very suitable for a home listen.
For the ending piece, ‘Signals,’ Deadcrow dusts off his Dutch hardstyle roots for a majestic hybrid tune that perfectly blends his pure typical Wave bassline and drumwork style with the ancestral energy of the hard beat. A three-minutes trip through hyperspace where different rhythmics clash under an assembly of uplifting synths.
Transmission comes as the very first EP from Deacrow in 2019 and I sincerely hope that it’s the first signal of the approach of a new album. The word goes to Deadcrow!
