Best New Tracks - Pitchfork: Hudson Mohawke: "Ryderz" |  |
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Posted: 14 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT
Maybe restraint isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Hudson Mohawke's titanic "Ryderz"—smothered in thumping 808s and horn wailing and synth giggles, like so much Donkey Sauce on a plate at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar—but I hope you'll hear me out for a second. Building on a sample of D.J. Rogers' tender 1973 soul cut "Watch Out for the Riders", Mohawke spends the song's first minute doing something you might not expect from one of maximalism's crown princes: he lets it breathe, leaves a little space for textured vinyl bits that spit and hiss like fat coming off a thick slab of bacon, lays down a foundation.
When he's stampeding over said sample with every whizbang in his toolbox, that core remains, its melody bearing all of the weight. The titular lyric starts to sound like a warning. And while it's easy to get lost in the maelstrom Mohawke stirs up by the end, it's important not to lose sight of what it took to get there: the taste to dig up Rogers' obscure original; the patience required to build that base; the wizardry behind that joyous cluster-bomb of extras. The great ones make it look easy.  |
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