The ‘Ten Bob’ EP signals John Graham‘s return to John Digweed’s label after his acclaimed ‘One Darker’ EP, released earlier in March, which also meant a big comeback for his Skanna alias after almost 20 years. Divided into four tracks, ‘Ten Bob’ presents a groovy but heady trip. Simply irresistible.
If there’s a word that can accurately describe Quivver’s music, then that word is “cool“. Timeless, they conjure a modern sound design, with a vibe that belongs to some of yesterday’s best productions. John Graham is one of those stalwarts remaining from electronica’s golden years. He’s seen things, and that is something his productions carry effortlessly. Something we can appreciate one more in his recent release for the giant that is Bedrock.
‘I’m Bob’ is Quivver firing on all cylinders. Vibrant and elegant on equal parts, it calls to set dancefloors on fire. Held by a frame that seems to have a mind of its own, breathing autonomously, the track is full of infectious pearls across its 7 minutes. We could even go as far as saying they make us reminisce of a Richard D. James in tracks like the seminal ‘Windowlicker’.
On the other hand, ‘Ten (Club Mix)’ blazes its own path. Heavier in its conception, but with a deeper feeling, Ten sets us up for a low-hanging trip, where the framework allows us to dive even further down the rabbit hole. With surgical precision, Quivver creates a landscape that looks towards the future.
Such is the perceived flexibility emanated by ‘Ten’, that John also is able to deliver two other versions in its Original Mix and the Radio Edit. As one can infer after listening to the Club Mix, these two incursions tread down the breaks genre, as he had previously done with ‘One Darker’. The genre has found itself having a resurgence of late, and these two additional mixes are a great example of just why breaks is taking over sets all over the world.
Between the best of what once was and a modern vision, ‘Ten Bob’ EP is a brilliant return from Quivver to one of those labels that are the cornerstone of electronica like Bedrock.
