Tehbis & Touchy Subject Magnet For Your Mind

London’s Tehbis and Touchy Subject land on Astrophonica with Magnet For Your Mind, a joint EP that represents the yin and yang of their creativity. Produced without overthinking, the EP’s six tracks are split into distinct halves: one built for the dancefloor, the other for the headphones. “We use a multitude of platforms to write our music,” says the pair, who have made quiet moves over the past five years with releases on Brownswood Recordings, Numbers, and Wot Not. “Digital production, live instrumentation, samples, live vocals. Hopefully the result is music that people can relate to and vibe off.”

The A side caters to the dancefloor with three uptempo cuts. ‘1988’ is the first production the pair finished together, a mellow slice of chopped ragga jungle built on booming 808s and floating arpeggiated melodies that dance around the beat. This is followed by ‘Harrangutan’, aka “the piglet beat”, a quick burst of adrenaline to your neck that channels the stripped-back aesthetics of the beat scene and its less-is-more approach. ‘Kush’ closes the dance with more ragga-tinged vibes but this time in a leaner dub stance, live bass playing off a shifting rhythm track and vocal samples rippling off a cavernous sonic interior.

Flip over to the B side for the soundtrack to the ride home after a night out. The cinematic ’Elephants In The Room’ kicks it off with a bubbling groove, the rhythm switching between double and half time as sampled chants play against warm synthesizers and live bass. ‘Magnet For Your Mind’ is the pair’s ode to classic downtempo hip-hop vibes with cheerful samples, warm keys and a stirring vocal from Yawning Young. The EP closes with ‘He Who Knows’ a slightly more energetic production with Yawning Young intoning “my brother, he makes me feel alive” as the beat slides off into the distance.

Magnet For Your Mind EP is something a little different from Astrophonica, a representation of the label’s desire to explore the varied possibilities of dance music and its modern ramifications.