BLEN by AFRICA HITECH

Africa Hitech is more than a name, it is an ideology - one that embodies its members' passions for an eclectic diaspora of electronic styles, from dub and acid to UK garage, grime, techno, house and Jamaican dancehall. Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek stand at the intersection of all these styles (and more) and the result is a bass-fuelled manifesto: the opening salvo being 'Blen'. Big Tip!Created at Red Bull Music Academy in 2007, Africa Hitech forms part of Mark Pritchard’s MPP Productions collective. MPP is a banner under which all the wide-ranging productions from this prolific producer can co- exist, released through Warp, projects include Africa Hitech, Harmonic 313 and new Reload material, amongst others. ‘Blen’ is all oxygen-sucking bass kicks and razor snares, until Spacek comes in over a chorus of insect synths. This is not the smooth Steve Spacek you may know from his eponymous band, this is Steve Spacek as a rudeboy from the future. As a counterpoint to the paranoid bounce of the title track, the ‘Blen Remix’ stretches things out for the party. Flipping the vocals over percolating Garage beats and drenching it in swelling synths, it might as well be a masterclass for those trying to regain the sound of London circa 2000. While the B side ‘The Sound Of Tomorrow’ may seem at odds, it’s just an inkling of the range that Africa Hitech will cover in the coming months. A deep cut of synth soul full of ricocheting drum machines and vocoder choruses, its title is a fully accurate summary of the Africa Hitech aesthetic.