Usotsuki – Bout Us [Heifer]

heifer
Minor Detail is a DJ / producer duo from Northern Ireland, consisting of C58 and DJ Debauchery, who self-released their first dubby, breaks-infused track called “Proximity Dub” in March 2022. To have a stage for their own releases as well as the ones of their favourite artists and friends, the two decided to start their own label, HEIFER. On the debut release of the new imprint, Minor Detail have brought together four artists who provided diverse, very dancefloor-ready tracks between breakbeat and techno.

First off, we have “#2” by techno, electro and breaks producer Cosmic Chaos from Liverpool, UK. Dark choir style pads, arpeggiated synths and basslines are combined with breaky drums and percussion in this one to create a very driving electro track.

With “Bout Us”, Parisian producer Lungo presents us a new track under his alias Usotsuki. This superb roller combines a UK Garage aesthetic with UK-style Breakbeats in a stripped-down way, all centered around raw, unpolished drums, snappy claps and percussion and a thumping bass line, with some synths piercing through here and there.

“BZTTRX22” by Irish duo Street Legal from South Derry is the most techno-oriented track on the first HEIFER release. It combines ravey, 90s-inspired synth sounds with massive drums, a bass synth playing octaves and a rolling sampled drum break, resulting in a track fitting best to a party in an abandoned warehouse.

Finally, the Various Artists EP includes a track by Liverpool-based DJ Debauchery. The title “Donk-y Kong” already tells us that we can expect a UK Hard House styled track. It indeed includes the characteristic donkey offbeat bassline as well as short synth stabs, driving drums and some vocal cuts which sound like samples from a video game – presumably from the one the title refers to. Definitely a fun track for fans of the genre!

Pre-order.

https://youtu.be/5vtk37loXLg
Review by Sam.