Review: Downhill Select, Vol. 1
The tunez in question⌗
Review⌗
I’m honestly not entirely sure how one actually goes about critically assessing music, but I sure as hell know that this is a great release from Downhill2k01. I first came across Downhill2k01 by chance (ALL HAIL THE OMNISCIENT AND OMNIPOTENT Spotify Algorithm™), and I’m extremely glad I did. Would highly recommend checking out their work, they deserve so much more attention that they are getting right now!
What stands out the most to me throughout this EP is the simply excellent percussion and its interplay with the basslines. Ultimately the basslines aren’t terribly melodically complex, but they are extremely well integrated with the drums to the point of becoming a central part of the rhythm.
The sound design here is also great. The mix of warm ambient pads and chunky, compressed bass is quite nice :) Several of the tracks follow the pattern of keeping quiet on the low frequencies until the bass kicks in, and hoo boy am I a sucker for that. I absolutely NEED to get my hands on some subwoofers, but I know my roommates will kill me if I do so… we will see.
My main complaint is that some ideas simply need to be developed further. This is especially glaring in “Breakneck”; it’s IMHO the best song on this EP and yet it is farrr too short.
Favorite track⌗
This is a hard one, but I think “Breakneck” takes this spot (with the extended mix of “A Piece Of My Mind” a close second). The title definitely captures what it feels like to listen to this track! A wild, non-stop ride through a series of complex drum breaks.
Weakest link⌗
Will definitely have to put “Robot Random Number Gen_Bass1.wav” here. It’s pretty much what it says on the in — a simple bass sound arranged in what seems to be a relatively random fashion. Unfortunately it doesn’t really sound coherent enough to be more than a fun little experiment.
Verdict⌗
3.5/5, a solid release worth listening to multiple times!
I really wanted to give this EP a 4/5, but it’s not quite there. Still more than worth multiple listens!