Deadman

Sam Shackleton stalks deeper into the sub-loaded unknown, with two Valentine's Day releases for Honest Jon's, loaded with spectacular remixes by Kevin Martin, T++ and Baron Mordant, all stunningly mastered by Rashad Becker, and presented with startling artwork by Zeke Clough. This first 12” features the original plus remix from Kevin Martin aka King Midas Sound. Retrieved from his celebrated Fabric mix-CD, Deadman is signature Shackleton, turning paradox and paranoia into dancefloor fire. It comes straight at you: rolling, dread techno of breathtaking heat and humidity, spurred by hectoring congas and thick-set subs, amidst a teeming soundscape of drones, field recordings and oblique vocal textures, like missed messages and garbled warnings. Nimble yet drop-forge-heavy, sensuous yet punitive, wide-open yet occluded, on the move yet unnervingly rooted. Kevin Martin adopts his King Midas Sound guise for an expansive remix which reveals his lineage in noise, industrial and isolationist ambient. He fillets and cools Shackleton's production, building a corona of crackle, with stirring strings. Hitomi's singing taps the melancholy latent in the mischief and menace of the original. A muffled bass and tripping syncopation nods to Rhythm & Sound but Death Dub is its own beast, fully realized, daring and affecting.