- Contrary to his worries that clubbers might go home from one of his sets this year at Watergate not remembering a single song that they heard, Sebo K's Watergate 04 mix is full of the sort of personality-driven tunes that seem to be so lacking these days. Watergate smartly opens up their vinyl division by placing two of them on wax for eternity.
The first is Sebo's house edit of Martyn's exquisite "Elden St.," one of the highlights from the dubstepper's Great Lengths album from earlier this year. Sebo flattens out the beat, which was formerly a syncopated twitch, and gives it the sort of throbbing house energy that his sets are known for. Plenty of chords play throughout, with dubby chords breaking through to further the sense of play. But it's the constantly moving bassline that provides the hypnotic sense of movement…even if you know in the back of your mind that you aren't going anywhere at all.
dOP's "Cold World" is found early on the disc, and its creeping tempo reflects its warm-up pace. Like much of dOP's best work, it's easy to lose track of how few vocals there actually are, despite Jonathan Illel being the obvious center of attention. More than ever, though, Illel is a mere instrument in this downcast epic of small changes and twisting tension. You might not remember this one in the morning, but in the right hands, you'll likely remember what the DJ brings in right after it.
Tracklist A Martyn - Elden St (Sebo K Watergate Edit)
B dOP - Cold World