uk techno stalwart ben sims adopts his ron bacardi alias for an outing on bass culture records, bringing with him three varying slices of 4x4-based music. d’julz has a deep penchant for bass and funk, and this is evident throughout the ep. we get off to a rugged start with ‘rock your body’, a deliciously dark slice of grumbling techno. intertwined with the morose bassline is a mysterious, tribal-esque female vocal, warped and twisted to add a primal feel to the track. on the flip, bacardi puts his a different hat on giving us ‘first effort’ a vivacious funk-laced hybrid, which teases you spitting out intermittent trumpets and other such live instruments. finally, ‘the money/dub’ goes straight into disco territory with that oh-so-familiar entrancing rhythm that will keep you fixed to its beat from start to finish. that filtered wah-wah guitar is impossible to resist, especially when combined with such crisp percussion. sheer quality from monsieur bacardi…