By now, Rusko fans know better than to expect any release he lays down to be monochromatic in any way. Known for genre-hopping, the UK artist has the production and sound design chops to headbang, skank or even dagger back and forth between genres with reckless abandon. His new EP Genghis Danger out earlier this week on Deadbeats is no exception in that regard but that doesn’t mean Rusko hasn’t found new ways to play with sound and challenge himself.
The first track on Genghis Danger is a beautiful case in the afore-mentioned point. “Go Up” is a melodic, emotive future bass track that will surprise the hell out of a fanbase who’s already come to expect the unexpected from Rusko. Complete with starburst drops, heart-rending melodies in both the synth and vox and even a spine-tingling key change, this tear-jerker of a track promises to hit hard on the dancefloor and even harder on the sunrise drive home.
“One Family” follows next on the EP’s tracklist and is a bit of a tease in terms of what genre it’ll actually be. The long intro contains amen loops and old school vocals that sound like they could drop into a drum & bass track. Then there’s the phantom drop into an old school breaks format before the track actually starts and it’s a hard left into heavy, riddim-inspired dubstep. Way to keep the dance on its toes, Rusko.
Drum & bass heads need not fear on this EP either, as the penultimate track is a hyper-fast stinker that sees more surprising soundplay from Rusko. Fast, minimal and steppy, “Oh My God” plays with snares in a way Rusko hasn’t really done before. The beat itself is in the foreground here, while the synths are there really to compliment said beat, which because of the snares is both a roller and a snapper.
Genghis Danger ends with the more dubby dubstep track “Bumbaclat” which is really meant to be a hard bass version of a reggae track. Here Rusko takes care to focus on the more subtle elements of dub reggae with an unexpected flute melody and a melodic synth.
While Genghis Danger is another hodgepodge of an EP from Rusko, it’s not only just in terms of genre this time. The way he plays with melody, sound, kicks and snares on this release means even though he’s proven his diversity many times over and managed to escape being relegated to one genre or style, Rusko still finds new ways to push himself and bring even more to his audience.
Genghis Danger is out now on Deadbeats and can be streamed on Spotify or purchased on Beatport.