Sepalcure Take the Cake @ Dub War NYC, Release on Hot Flush

photo by Seze Devres

Sepalcure played the Bass Mutations gig at New York's Unsound Festival, and to be quite honest it came and went for me. There was something that I didn't quite get about the two Brooklyn musicians until last night when they made their Dub War debut. While both crowds were the two best you could legitimately ask for in a six-month period, the harmony between club Love's pure soundsystem, a midnight time slot and the perfection of their set after many hard months working on their upcoming Hot Flush release all came together in tune.

'Love Pressure' is an EP that shows the softer side of Hot Flush, a predominantly dubstep label run by Scuba and Alex Incyde. Saturated with female vocals in a sort of classic house music fashion, the rolling bass lines are a blanket of punches to keep you swaying back and forth. "It's unreal that anyone could be this good," was exclaimed within my crew, and I couldn't agree more. The ingredients include a unique blend of tribal dub, two-step and soulful rhythms peppered with their love for 90s house a cappellas.

And character goes a long way. Take Praveen Sharma, one half of the duo. He helps run Percussion Lab, and absorbs music like a sponge, but also has one of the warmest and most inviting personalities in the scene. Always positive, he is by far the most enthusiastic performer you will ever see behind the decks, and the chemistry between him and Travis Stewart (Machinedrum), his musical partner-in-crime, is all part of the force that moves you.

"Every Day of My Life" and the EP's title track are bouncy and fun, and closing track "The Warning" is gorgeous and goosebump-inducing. It's some of the most emotive bass-heavy music you'll ever hear, and whether or not it carves out a new subgenre from hereon in, 'Love Pressure' will definitely stand out on its own.

HF025 will be available June 7th 2010 on 12” vinyl, and digitally at Beatport.

Added // a comment from Matty Steppo, a Providence dubstep DJ: "That was the best hour of electronic music I've seen live for a while."