In this week’s episode of “find the downbeat in the fast AF D&B tune,” Redpill’s “Last One Standing” off his upcoming Flesh & Blood EP on Blackout is a true test of tempo tracking. In fact, one could be forgiven for thinking it’s actually a hardcore track. Ah, the beautifully confusing world of bass music.
While it seems Redpill has been everywhere lately with lots of singles and collabs on Eatbrain, Othercide, Blackout, Bad Taste and C4C just this year, Flesh & Blood is actually his first EP since November’s Lunch Time on Eatbrain. Nonetheless, he’s still known as one of the fastest-producing artists in the business, and the fact that Flesh & Blood is such a complete and complex evolution of Redpill’s style is certainly a testament to that.
The three-track EP shows Redpill flexing his conventional musical history with ravey, pseudo-classical keys on “Give It” and playing with massively complex syncopation work on the title track. The kicker, however it the afore-mentioned “Last One Standing.” With a ravey, hardcore-inspired double intro that lasts almost two minutes and has two ghost drops, said intro could easily be mistaken for the actual track.
What sounds like a hardcore beat in “Last One Standing,” however, is actually a pulsing synth line which is sometimes followed by the main beat and other times split off from it. At times, the snares are really the only tip-off that this track is still in D&B territory and even then it’s extremely tough to pinpoint. Redpill’s really done a mindjob on this one and a pre-emptive kudos is due to any DJ who tries to mix it live, including Redpill himself.
While Redpill can push out music at a rate that leaves fans and press as whiplashed as his beats, what’s really astonishing is the quality in every track. From sound design to creativity and even down to some really beautiful melodies, Flesh & Blood is yet another example of how this French juggernaut has not only hit his stride but continues to impress with no signs of slowing down.
Flesh & Blood releases on Blackout this coming Monday, May 13. Pre-order by clicking here.