Rustie Re-Work – “Surph” Feat. Nightwave

Maximalism became all the rage in 2011. Watch The Throne ruefully took hip hop to exciting new highs and devastating lows. A$AP Rocky succesfully amalgamated previous disparate regional styles. Odd Future was so in your face and all over the map stylistically that no one really knew how to respond, resulting in a devolution into meaningless think pieces, highlighted by psychoanalytic bullshit. In mainstream electronic music, dubstep and progressive house reigned supreme stateside. Skrillex-style dubstep became prevalent as the low-end sounds that originated in London almost a decade ago began to depreciate. Gushing piano crescendo’s and over-the-top vocal performances dominated the house world, as the Swedish House Mafias, Aviciis and Calvin Harrises of the world became the new pop stars.

All of this brings us to two diminutive Glasgow-based producers who reside on the legendary Warp Records roster. Hudson Mohawke and Rustie of the LuckyMe collective encapsulated the overarching maximalist sentiment of our time and translated into two sensory overload releases. Mohawke’s Satin Panthers EP set the bar high early in the year while Rustie’s Glass Swords took home the grand prize, ending up on many, if not most, “Best Of” lists. Both producers have been on the map for several years, noted in their spots on the Warp roster, but both have also been fairly inconsistent and un-focused at this point in their careers. Satin Panthers and Glass Swords ended any complaints about the two.

This all brings us to today’s announcement regarding the first single release from Glass Swords. Album standout, “Surph,” has been given the single treatment and will be released on Warp on April 9.  Furthermore, the track has been given the re-work treatment with new vocals from Slovenian singer Nightwave. While the track already featured Nightwave’s heavily distorted vocals, they have been re-recorded and are far more prominently featured than on the album-version. Whether you like the album version, or the single version more, it is undeniable that the track has an inherent pop value that is not as easy to recognize within the context of Glass Swords. Give the re-worked “Surph” a listen above and check out the album version here for comparison.