Raime explore exquisitely honed rhythmic instincts with scintillating results on the 2nd release on
their RR label
Where the London duo’s 2018 EP and RR debut ‘We Can’t Be That Far From The Beginning’ evoked
a meditative mood from the info overload of their home city that left acres of space to the
imagination, the ‘Planted’ EP rejoins the dance with four tracks that icily acknowledge strong
influence from Latin American and Chicago footwork styles in a classically skooled mutation of
hardcore British dance music.
In four fleetingly ambiguous dancefloor workouts they carry on a conceptual theme exploring
the digital subconscious with persistently invasive, alien ambient shrapnel - half-heard voices,
aleatoric prangs, and tag-covered signposts - woven into and thru their tightly coiled and
reflexive drum programming.
Uptown, ’Num’ flexes tendons and hips like a Leonce riddim that danced all the way from NOLA
and ATL to the wintery dawn of a LDN warehouse, while the lip-biting tension of minimalist
160bpm jungle/ footwork patterns and jibber-jawed vocals in ‘Ripli’ suggests the Alien film’s
protagonist lost in a mazy rave space, chased by H.R. Giger-designed face huggers (or gurning
energy vampires). Downtown ‘Kella’ then catches them on a grimy dubtech bounce, cocked back
and straining at the harness, before ‘Belly’ shuts down the dance with invasive, demonic motifs
exploding over dark blue chords and palpitating jungle subs with impeccable darkside style