Description
Lead track “Sorta Rican” bubbles away, melding together percussive elements of Latin disco with the drum machine handclaps and sturdy kicks of early house cheap-sounding European electronic disco with it all underpinned by the easy shuffle and bassline of a dub reggae track. Defiant in the face of easy categorization, Ruf Dug has produced the track record diggers will pull out from dusty record boxes in 15 years and struggle to explain. As we all know, it’s those sorts of tracks that you return to time and time again.
By contrast, “MV Look” feels much more straight-forward and orthodox, yet is still very much filled with effervescence. Blessed with bold, winding, constantly rising synths that drive the track forward – helped, in no small part, by a chugging analogue bassline and an almost endless stream of handclaps and sweaty drum builds – it sounds like someone desperately reaching out to some distant star in order to pull it down to earth. It’s every bit as playful as its predecessor, but boasts greater urgency. You can imagine Ruf Dug playing the synth melodies on a classic ‘80s keytar, eyes closed in the traditional “with feeling” pose often sported by badly dressed keyboardists on Top of the Pops.
The most endearing thing about both tracks is that they simply don’t fit into any neat pattern, trend or simple dancefloor narrative. Too often producers play it safe and create functional tracks that will easily fit into straightforward, no-risk DJ sets. Ruf Dug seems to just be making the music for adventurous DJs and curious listeners. For that, he should be applauded.
