Future Beat Alliance - Dark Passenger [ Rush Hour ]
Someone must have slipped something in Matthew Puffett's water supply. The UK producer was once best known for making seductive yet reflective techno—most effectively represented on his 2001 album Disconnected for Delsin. But more recently you'd find him remixing Danny Howells, or here—on Dark Passenger— showcasing a more upfront side to his sound. Focused on the dance floor, the title track opens with half-heard, disconcerting vocals and noisy analogue riffs that, set to jacking skeletal percussion, gradually dominate the track. Midway through, Puffett delivers a spacious breakdown that leads into deeper, resonating chords, but soon enough, the grinding techno backing resurfaces to lead the track to a noisy finale. "Relentless," however, offers a more rounded take on Future Beat Alliance's new-found duality. Based on tight, metallic claps and a plunging bass that calls to mind classic Red Planet or Hawtin in FUSE mode, Puffett delivers an incredible sweeping chord sequence that's equal parts eerie and evocative. While it is often the case that musicality and dance floor functionality are incompatible partners, Puffett proves on Dark Passenger that sometimes, there are exceptions. A pint of whatever you're having, Matt. Richard Brophy (DJ Magazine) 2009
10 years after release “Dark Passenger” was picked up & licensed to the Hollywood film “All I See Is You”
A1. Dark Passenger
B1. Relentless
Written & Produced by Matthew Puffett