Review: Four years into their story, deep dubstep stalwarts Subaltern Records has decided to drop its first compilation style EP. Fittingly, Kaleidoscope Volume 1 begins with a contribution from a new addition to the label roster, Helktram. The producer's "Alter" is a rolling and undeniably heavy affair, with creepy horror strings and clandestine textures rising above crunchy snares, punchy kick-drums and a restless analogue bassline. Label regular D-Operation Drop serves up a skewed slice of vintage, spaced-out dubstep ("Fibers"), before Berlin-based Ill K dives deeper via the lo-fi drum hits, decaying audio textures and heavy sub of "Bomb". Finally, Shu and Zygos join forces for "Landfall", a Burial style dark ambient/dubstep fusion cut that reverberates at a slower than average tempo.
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