Label boss and international mainstay Ryan Crosson returns for Visionquest 088 under his Theoretical Speed alias. For over two decades Crosson has been lighting up dance floors with his sets and productions, from his native Detroit to Berlin and back again.
The EP starts off hot with the aptly titled “Take Me to Bed and Mix Me Forever”. Tough analog drums break into a trademark VQ vocal with deep moving sub bass. Step and Swing is the name of the game. After an overdrive odyssey midway through, the track is polished off with beautiful, murky, submersed synths drifting in and out.
Next up is the title track, “Dusty Rugs” featuring the inimitable John Camp on keys. Lovely melodic pianos cascade into a sick bass line that perfectly bumps and swings with the percussion. As the piano irons itself out the bass twists into a new groove with a punctuating vocal stab. It perfectly serves up Detroit/Berlin magic clearly influenced by the likes of Thomas Melchior.
On the flip, the B side starts out with Silverlining’s “Swung Dub”. The UK underground veteran delivers a dope dubbed out version of the original. In this offering, the drums notch up the swing and consistency while the keys shimmer in and out of the foreground. A masterclass in restraint and depth.
H-Foundation, a duo that needs no introduction, put their signature stamp on another “Dusty Rugs” remix to round out the EP. File under infectious classic grooving dubby house. Shuffling drums bounce with underwater synth stabs in perfect syncopation, giving us a fantastic completion to another great cut of VQ wax.
