By Michael Krimper
You don’t get quite what you expect from the aptly titled electronic duo, PANTyRAiD. A side project of forward thinking producers Martin Folb (Marty Party -- he'll be performing this Fri/11 at 103 Harriet) and Josh Mayer (Ooah of the Glitch Mob), PANTyRAiD delves into the rich cross-sections of hip-hop, dubstep, and ambient. Although the duo was previously best known for heavy hitting remixes like “Do You” and powerhouse party mixes -- e.g. for XLR8R and Mary Anne Hobbs -- of synth knocking beats flipped over modulated crunk lyricism, their latest effort The Sauce (Marine, Ingrooves) salvages their place as solid beat conductors on the quest.
PANTyRAID, "Get the Money"
PANTyRAiD most impressively experiment with multi-tiered arrangements, changing tempo and bass tonality by way of a jazz inspired fluidity. In “Worship The Sun”, dissonant synth vamps grace chilling tribal drums and chants, building into a wobbling bass riding “hot sex on a platter” bars from Silk E. Fyne’s one hit wonder, and reemerging once more with a graceful intensity.
The dripping melodies of “Dreaming” rise from the shadows of the hardest track on the record. It’s certainly the duo’s most memorable achievement in experimenting with interweaving patterns. The composition rises and falls with a lunar mysteriousness that recalls Burial and Boards of Canada and just a touch of Dilla’s magic. The Sauce also features the previously released single “Beba”, a stripped down champion sound groove that just grows monstrously in bubbling synth potency.
Despite PANTyRAiD’s expert craftsmanship in developing multi-tiered compositions in their singles, The Sauce as a whole searches desperately for coherence. The swiveling melodies and crunk mutated, full bodied rhythms create a tension that doesn’t let go. And we’re made to feel like we’re being taken somewhere but never arrive. A frustrating feeling, as if some teenagers in heat went on a pantyraid and never found any undergarments. But for what PANTyRAiD lack in full ranged innovation they make up for in the textured creativity that keeps you guessing for more. And that more just might be what the DJs transform these tracks into live.
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