Reeko & Surgeon - Scoundrel

14 Mar

Surgeon and Reeko are genre-defining artists with a career spanning 20+ years, respectively. With the scale output from these two, you could be forgiven for thinking that the creative juices may be drying up. Well, with the EP 'Scoundrel' being the newest release on Reeko's Mental Disorder imprint (2023), it is clear that's not the case. 'Scoundrel' sounds as fresh and innovative as any record out this year, and the release showcases two of the best during the peak of their powers. It's unique, exploratory, and mind-bending.

Surgeon and Reeko deliver in-your-face, growly funk on 'Scoundrel', flitting between BPM, style, and intensity across the EP, most likely down to their killer knowledge of how to make us dance. But there's something more than straight techno on offer here; as the pair have aged, they are allowing new influences to creep in, creating shifting stylistic choices.

Breakbeat influence runs throughout 'Scoundrel', and the thwack of syncopated kick drums litter every track. Each track is a complex polyrhythmically as metallic percussive elements are interlaced between thrashing kicks. This creates an unyielding march forward, even in the slower title track, 'Scoundrel'. The duo pushes their rhythmic sensibilities in a different direction with 'Gangster In Disguise', embedding a rattly breakbeat into the heart of the percussion. The pair builds around the break, discretely hiding it in plain sight until a strategically placed breakdown pushes it to the forefront. 'Lemurian Blues' again shifts focus being the most mellow in the mood. 'Lemurian Blues' uses delay on the primary kick, pinging the delayed signals left and right in conjunction with the liberal use of kickdrum fills to keep everything flowing.

These seemingly effortless rhythmic switch-ups lend themselves to exploring different sonic characteristics. As said before, 'Scoundrels' is the snarling animal of the EP, combining rolling call and response. At the same time, 'Gangster In Disguise' adds Funkadelic punk licks and the ascending bass of 'Lemurian blues' bookends the EP. Beginning with the title track, 'Scoundrel', the bass seemingly trundles during the intro before exploding into this visceral, dirty, pulsating wave of bass that catches me off guard every time I hear it. 'Scoundrel' is a pure display of power. Animalistic is its aggression, unrelenting in its approach. This bassline and the polyrhythmic styling of 'Scoundrel' emulates a jaguar stalking its prey. 'Gangster In Disguise' is a track of two halves in that respect.

On the one hand, the duo craft an excellent broken-beat techno track, but that all flies out the window with introducing of this highly funky line in 'Gangster In Disguise. The lead takes on characteristics of a slap bass through a medley of modulating effects. This slap bass section changes the dynamics of the track, and combined with the breakbeat, it becomes more closely related to drum and bass or jungle tracks, with the bass lick of 'Brown Paper Bag' by Roni Size coming to mind. If the previous two tracks don't sound like your cup of tea, 'Lemurian Blues' offers stunning liquid pads that evolve over its runtime. The duo simultaneously creates a track that can introduce lashings of rhythmic complexity merged with angelic shimmering pads that transform the track into a deep cognitive trip with top-notch dancefloor appeal. The crooks of "Scoundrel" is that it's not a techno record, I may sound like one and play quite convincingly as one, but it's a jungle record, plain and simple.

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