Joe Davies aka DJ Assam makes a welcome return to Smallville following his Shields In Full Sunlight LP with the Pardon My Late Response EP. The past decade has seen DJ Assam releasing material for the likes of (his own imprint) Lehult, that he runs with a few friends, KANN Records, Super Tuff, and Smallville Records sub-label Down by the Lake, as well as DJing regularly at hotspots across Europe and beyond. Last year he made his debut on Smallville appearing under his own name -- Joe Davies with a long player project. Here he returns with more of his distinctive deep and hypnotic style on a new EP for Smallville. Up first on the package is "Errol Dub," a six minute journey traversing through bouncy bass tones, airy chords, crisp shuffled percussion and modulating synth lines before "Unknown" dives deeper via a reduced rhythm section, acid synth bleeps, soft bell tones and subtly nuanced atmospherics. Opening the flip-side "1234 Love" captures a more raw aesthetic with saturated drums at its core while an amalgamation of modulating synth licks and ethereal pads ebb and flow throughout. The Frankfurt Mix of "Hi Life," known from Joe's mesmerizing Smallville album, rounds out the release, journeying into dub territory courtesy of spiraling echoes and slowly unfurling chords underpinned by a bumpy off-kilter drum groove.
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