- I wonder if Anomie ever gets tired of being called a ‘secret weapon’? I mean, first up, it ain’t no secret. The Red Bull Music Academy alum has played Sonar Festival in Spain, got tapped by Germany’s Goethe Institut to make a sonic essay about Sydney and plays just about every major festival that comes through New South Wales. A mainstay of the Marrackville underground and community radio DJ on the brilliant Shadows of Tomorrow show on 2SER, she’s the kinda polymath who can re-score classical manuscripts for kooky synths, produces DNB remixes of Indonesian pop acts and bootlegs classic '90’s hiphop, all whilst shooting a warehouse-rave video clip for her latest EP SOS, the first vinyl release for insider UK-via-Sydney jungle/dubstep imprint Inna Riddim. So, secret? Not so much...but definitely a weapon.
Carpark Riddim opens the offering, a tough upfront dancehall drumnbass riddim, flexing that dark-edged UK style, a little bit Source Direct and a little bit Renegade Hardware. There are monosynth wails and sirens and toothy bass, with her own distinct touches: a little clean sinewave bubble peeking out between the breaks, and deftly blended organic percussion elements leading into a sudden finish.
What You Gon Do About It deploys some classic technique, pitch shifted triads that don’t respect NO regular diatonic harmony. Here too though there’s innovation: skittering hihats and chord textures that bleed colour at the edges, zappy portamento warps that push things beyond just executing a classic sound.
Anomie’s command of style is really on show here; years of killer DJ sets and original production means she’s got a taxonomical mastery of the elements of bass music, knows the conventions enough to tease them to breaking point, stretching away from what you expect. She shows you she knows the rules enough to break them whenever she wants, with impunity AND make you love it.
...and before you think it’s just going to be one big DNB-jungle masterclass, closing cut Makedonski Oro comes through with a downbeat slink, all phat chorused-out synthbass and snake-charm sex appeal. Which reminds me: if you wanna hear how deep into middle-east dub beats Anomie can get, check out Permanent Revelation or her work on West Java collab project Cipta Gelar Remixed”. Oh, and she decided to celebrate this EP by casually remixing the classic Aaliyah tune Try Again, stepping to Timbaland and winning with a banging club rework.
Get to know Anomie. She's a worker who just keeps getting better. Secret’s out.
- Kieran Ruffles.