Vessel

Vessel: Nylon Sunset

I've been really excited to hear local boy Seb Gainsborough after picking up a lot of chatter about town, in clubs, on blogs and mixes. I'd always missed the Young Echo, the collective into which Vessel recedes after each shadowy release, radio shows but they've already achieved legendary status as deep explorations of sound and bass. When Tri Angle announced they were putting out Seb's LP I ventured out to see him live (supporting Holy Other) and was impressed by the weighty, slinky structures I encountered.

Although Tri Angle press paints a dark, demonic picture (topless, half-obscured, patterned shots that remind me of a bass-bin Loki) Seb and Vessel are actually a lot more accessible in reality; playful yet paranoid and solidly, relentlessly urban and ghostly without sounding uniformly mournful, these stuttering beats are both enjoyably danceable and hold up under a closer, critical listen, especially the B-side which suggests House music as a compulsion, a spirit breaking out, while retaining a tough robo-exterior. Seb, in person, is also as  likable as his trax. 

[P.S. Seb also records under his House moniker, Panther Modern. I have one 12 and, despite still having reservations about House's worth as a 'have-a-go' genre, it's undeniably fun and heavy]