Silkie

Silkie's second full-length, City Limits Vol. 2, is a consistently engaging listen that eschews stylistic compromise. The versatility of Silkie is seemingly boundless and perfectly prominent throughout. Tracks like "Get Up N Dance" can drop a four-to-the-floor beat immediately following the album's two dubbed-out openers. "Get Up N Dance" is as fine an example as any of Silkie's ability to take vibes from different sides of the dance spectrum and unify them without the sounding sonically disparate. There is a wobble bass presence on City Limits Vol. 2 ("Lucky Master"), but don't fret, it's utilised as dubstep originally intended – as just another instrument; it's back to being a bass and not a mutated, Skrillex-esque soundscape. Silkie often builds off this with controlled, yet inspired, tangents of synth pads, drum samples and ambient textures that detail each song. "New York City" is a key pick – chopped hats and basic dub drums enter before being embellished with synth flourishes, running headlong into a bass drop that serves as a stylistic bridge back into dub. A house lead contrasts the dub feel and more melodic progressions blossom. Where lesser producers fall off the deep end and lose focus, Silkie is able to keep his music tasteful and engaging. City Limits Vol. 2 doesn't have a lot in the way of silence or minimalism, but it doesn't need to.