Dabrye: One/Three Vinyl LP

"Like the city it looked to for inspiration, Dabrye's sound was built to last." This is the first-ever reissue of Tadd Mullinix's 2001 album under the Dabrye moniker, and the coveted instrumentals are pressed on vinyl for the first time (remastered by Daddy Kev). Fusing Detroit hip-hop sensibilities with "the minimal glitch ethos of modern hybrid IDM," One/Three, which is the first installment of an intended trilogy, was miles ahead at the time of its release, and the sound the producer describes as "grayscale" helps connect the dots between "Slum Village and the beats of today." Here's the og Lab review that captures what this record meant around the time it initially dropped: "Dabrye, aka Todd Mullinix, who has also recorded for Ghostly under the alias James Cotton, describes this work as "grayscale." It's a bit more raw than the precise Instrmntl, but that's the appeal; it's rough cut electro. Checkout the opening track "The Liss," with that electro bass burps masking the lovely horn play in the background or the simple, shimmering formula of "With A Professional." It's a danceable selected ambient work. Get your striped shiz-zirt and hypercolour out for "So Scientific," cuz it's electroclash time. "Smoking the Edge" sounds like a predecessor to Instrmntl's's "This is Where I Came In"; mix them together for the monk's full ceremony of circumcision and gluttony from the golden tap."

• 3.5mm matte laminate jacket
• design by Coldflush
• 2018 remaster by Daddy Kev
• download card
• music label: Ghostly International 2001 / 2018

reviewed by rei kwondo 04/2018