Back in July, UK producer Rusko released an EP titled, !, which showed us a change in direction for the notorious dubstep musician. Now, he's released a follow-up called, ! Volume 2, a six track EP that carries on in a similar fashion. Bending through several different genres, ! Volume 2 is more of a drum and bass concept album than anything else. Rusko is constantly evolving his sound and ! Volume is a testament to his production skills.
The first track, "Saxophone Stomp," is an intense bass banger that reminisces on some of his past work. Filled with stabby pixelated punches, this track sounds like you're in the final battle with a boss in any Super Nintendo video game. It also follows a similar melody to "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith, so if there's an Aerosmith video game out there (which I'm sure there is), than this how I would imagine the end of the game.
The second track "I Wanna Mingle (feat Push)" was released over a month ago and features the high-pitched punches on the previous track. "Lytah," is more or less an homage to the 90's house scene with a splash of the high-pitched synth Rusko uses throughout the EP.
Rusko decides to bring out the funk on the fourth track, "Slappy Pappy," which is definitely one of the most unusual songs on the EP. It's hilarious title and intergalactic bass slaps is enough to even have these robots running to the disco. "Fusion Jam" is also a clear sign of Rusko's progression. The song borrows elements usually associated with jazz fusion bands and creates a fusion jam of jazz and drum and bass. In the same vein as the rest of the album, Rusko then deviates with, "Vaminos," which features some epic builds and drops surrounded by the stylized synths on ! Volume 2, which summarizes the album in one big punch.
Check out ! Volume 2 on Daily Beat or purchase it on iTunes.
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