- The Punch Drunk label is a solid and inventive cornerstone for new and interesting forms of bass mutations emanating from Bristol. The latest album from the imprint, Guido's Anidea, follows pioneering releases from label honcho Peverelist (whose Jarvik Mindstate was a highlight of many best of 2009 lists), junglist visionary RSD, Gemmy, and Hyetal & Shorstuff in careering away from the mainstream ideas of dubstep; confidently shaping the sound of things to come in appropriately iconic fashion.
Guido, AKA Guy Middleton, first appeared on the label with his Orchestral Lab 12-inch, a release that gave ears the world over an insight into his contorted musicianship, hankering for big drum lines and knack for keeping his productions rooted in deep, undulating sine waves. Following this unique musical vision with his remix of Lauren Pritchard's "Stuck" and his "Beautiful Complication" single, he also proved just how adept he was at working with vocalists to make brutal R&B with a club-wise slant, hinting at the potential of his rumoured debut album. Collating previous singles on CD and reworking his debut 12-inch's B-side, "Way U Make Me Feel" with vocalist and sometime Massive Attack collaborator Yolanda is an essential part of the Guido story, and in the context of the rest of his productions they work seamlessly, bouncing their own styles off the instrumentals gloriously.
As an album, Anidea seems to be exactly that: Guido's vision of how his music should sound. The full and bountiful exploration of his production and melodic ideas creates a rewarding and fresh listen that flitters through moods with panache, creating achingly beautiful unrequited love songs like the piano driven "Take Me Higher" as assertively as the higher octane bangers like "Tango." And as much as Guido's music, his label association and press coverage tags him as "dubstep," it's evident straight from the intro that his album is a different, more melody sensitive beast to some of the recent long players stemming from the scene.
It could be argued that there's no other producer releasing music at the moment who can switch styles so emphatically, from the woozy synthesized melancholy of "Cat In The Window" to the sheer sexuality of "Mad Sax," on which Guido teams jazz's superstar instrument's warbles with a timpani's ascending stabs, and vocal crescendos. He undoubtedly has his own sound on lock down, fusing pianos, lush pads and strings, with rough edged bass notes to incredibly gratifying effect. Channeling his numerous influences (grime, jazz, iconic soundtracks) and layers of sheen, Guido really makes the optimum use of his simplistic drum sounds and Anidea is a varied and demonstrative album that truly pushes Guido's craft, style and mild mannered melody obsession deservedly into the limelight.
Tracklist 01. Anidea
02. Orchestral Lab
03. Woke Up Early
04. Cat In The Window
05. Beautiful Complication feat. Aarya
06. Mad Sax
07. You Do It Right
08. Take Me Higher
09. Way U Make Me Feel feat. Yolanda
10. Tango
11. Shades of Blue
12. Tantalized