Peaky Beats Helms Deep EP

Leeds based UKG Peaky Beats follows up a killer release on Breaks N Pieces and self-released collaborative EP with Highrise with four cuts of ragga-tipped Dub that show a different sonic side to the typically lairy producer. It also comes complete with a remix from aya, the artist behind one of last year's most impressive tapes - I’m Hole.

LOTR-inspired ‘Helms Deep’ is a melodic battlecry; what would have been played when the Rohan army defeated Sauron’s forces had 140bpm dubstep existed within Tolkien’s fantasy world - haunting, meditative and deadly. ‘Shire Steppin’ makes clever use of stripped-back production with oddball samples and reggae-inspo that inspires mental images of hobbits smoking around a fire. What was in Gandalf’s pipe anyway?

‘Turn Up’ maintains the cemented minimal aesthetic, this time with a more tribal approach than ragga; swirling atmospherics soar overhead before screw-face dubs and heavy bass-weight invites the contemplative darkness across the threshold. Heady electronic and tribal traditions continue on ‘Greywind’ with more ragga-tipped goodness best played at 4am through the early morning haze.

Aya’s remix is typically brilliant - remaining at 140bpm, a standout producer of 2021 delivers a devastating, roughly chopped cut of malfunctioning dubstep - a percussive and experimental masterclass through light and dark.