Track of the Day: Josh Butler - Snake Skin EP

Closing off a busy week of announcements, releases and mixes with one of my favorite EPs that dropped in the past few weeks. Josh Butler was first featured with us only a few months ago, and as my compadre rightly stated, "...it should've happened sooner." Today I'm coming at ya with a full EP review off Butler's latest album 'Snake Skin' featuring 2 incredible original's and a dub remix to round off the collection.

Josh Butler - Snake Skin EP

Snake Skin

The lead single off this EP is an energetic tech house tune with a thumping kick that really drives the track forward with purpose. Carefully placed double hits mixed in with sharp, closed hi-hats mesh nicely with an array of open percussive pads. The neat thing about Butler's productions is that he has a lot of fun playing with the velocity and resonance of his drum layers to create additional sounds without out conflating the arrangement with too many different samples. This demonstrates his attention to detail and obvious technical skill level when assembling the initial framework of his track. A low, rolling bass line is the only really apparent groove that is present throughout most of the track until the breakdown, when an airy synth reveals itself for a short period of time, before returning to the grinding beat.

Snake Skin (Dub Mix)

In this Dub version of 'Snake Skin', Butler's pulls the kick back and tweaks it to give it a more full and rounder sound. He also softens the rim shots from the original arrangements which personally allows some of the intermediary percussive pads to push into the front. The bass line groove has been supressed to a simple loop and the breakdown is restructured entirely. If you're looking for some of the drum parts of the original song to play out but don't want to go to heavy with your set then this is the perfect alternative.

Safe Zone

This track really perked my ears when I first heard the EP. Much like 'Snake Skin' it has a high intensity rhythm and delightful collection of percussive layers. Elements of classic and acid house grooves infused with 90's uk house piano chords give this track so much character. From build to breakdown, Butler has a lot of fun playing with the filtering of different track layers; pushing and pulling elements in and out at just the right time. A bouncy bass line supplements his signature kick style perfectly and lines up well with the simple but effective piano stab.After digesting this amazing EP head on over to his first ever Rinse FM podcast as reveals some of his more laid back selections:'Snake Skin' is out now via Avotre Records, an awesome Berlin imprint started by eclectic house curator and producer Santé and Sidney Charles. Along with Josh Butler, the label has accumulated a healthy roster of top names in the underground scene like Darius Syrossian, Eskuche, and remixes by Patrick Topping and Dale Charles. Constantly pushing the boundaries of their releases, Avotre makes it very clear that they do not want to be pigeonholed. October is lining up to be a big month for the label as their roster will be making their rounds in mainland Europe and the UK.Check out our latest Guest Mix from GRYN:Enjoy,MR PUZL