Brey

Brasil EP Brey

The enigmatic Svetlana Industries has built up something of a reputation for talent spotting, with debut releases from Teebs, BNJMN, Nightwave and others, and this release is no exception, placing the label ahead of the pack once more. Brey is a young Londoner of Angolan origin who has already attracted attention and praise from Scratcha DVA, Bok Bok, (who’s been playing his own edit of ‘Double A Side…’), Brackles and others, as well as “who is this guy?” hype in Fader and FACT. He’s been offered major publishing deals and free studio time and all sorts, but through all this has kept himself firmly to himself. You won’t find much beyond a few mashups on his Soundcloud, and apart from an anonymous appearance on Ramadanman’s legendary Fabriclive compilation under the name Die Barbie Musik Kollektiv, the ‘Brasil EP’ is the first public airing of his complex, catchy yet highly original, relaxed yet stealthy take on UK dance music, hybridising elements of bass, hip hop, funky house and styles upon styles beyond. ‘Bengela’ is a tease; a long build, a real horn section parping over ominous tribal percussion, until it drops into a ridiculous party tune, half tongue in cheek, half banger skank, offbeat but jacking. ‘Juno’ marks the spot where Night Slugs meets John Barry. Sharp clattering percussion, pitched syn drums and rave stabs get muddled together with jazz flute, cinematic strings, somewhere a subdued indecipherable hip hop vocal, an undercurrent of heavy studio pressure, and what’s this? A guitar solo? Oh, okay then, bring it on, it seems to work. ‘Double A Side …’ works crispy percussion and tinkling vibes, under which ploughs a heavy bass and snatches of what sound like ragga vocal, giving way to a tropical synth stabs. Again Brey teases, only fully dropping the beat three minutes in. Like ‘Bengela’, this is a track designed to be mixed, and to give a breath and pause to the set before dumping back into heavy tribal rhythm. Heavy DJ support for this tune already ac