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12"
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SNDST 104EP
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$12.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 12/9/2022
Harvey McKay steps up for his first EP on Second State Audio with three tracks of high rolling techno on the Oberon EP. Glasgow's Harvey McKay adds Second State to his already brimming back catalog with Midnight EP, featuring three driving and grooving cuts. A hard-hitter in Scotland's techno scene, Harvey regularly appears at international hotspots including Space Ibiza, Awakenings, and fabric, to name a few. The opening track "Midnight" is high-spirited yet dark and energetic, creating a more stripped back style of McKay production. A booming reverberating kick dances with scattered hi-hats and a low-slung bouncing synth to create a deep and dusky atmosphere. Ascending keys keep the tension tight and high along with solitary stabs that whine and wring out over the main groove. "Oberon" begins with a dappled kick and solitary hi-hat layered upon minimal pads which are soon buried by a hypnotic, marching churn and percussive wails. These elements are gradually bound together to create the base of the track, with intermittent breakdowns that allow the pads and wails to break through and add depth. As the track develops, the major notes intensify and are brought to the forefront with a cyclic sample that's teased out, but never allowed to fully burst through the chaos. McKay rounds up with a relentless piece of techno in "Elves Playground". A revolving metallic texture twirls over the booming kick to create a playful element in this cut before a deep and brooding drone takes control. As the devilish track progresses, the buzzing drone is toned down and injected back with ferocious vigor each time. A driving and textured production with clever minimal rave elements that are guaranteed to get you moving.
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COR 173EP
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Harvey McKay makes a welcome return to Cocoon Recordings with the Black Spider EP, featuring three heavy-duty cuts that spin out in a variety of directions, constructing a formidable web of peak-time mayhem in the process. "Black Spider" bites hard from the get-go with a venomous bassline that pulses and mutates through a series of precision peaks and troughs. The track kicks repeatedly, drenching the dancefloor in washes of analog noise while McKay still finds space for a barrage of clattering percussion. Haunting ambient voices and a mysterious spoken mantra add yet more texture to the cavernous, gothic atmosphere it conjures. Next up, the disconcertingly titled "Sticky Carpet" utilizes a '90s hard house vibe complete with crunching, distorted beats, and a glistening octave-jumping synth pattern that slides and constricts around the chugging bassline. However, the track really comes into its own as alternating metallic patterns start to dominate in a homage to the hi-hat, whipping the dancefloor into shape as they switch in and out, jostling relentlessly for attention. Finally, hardcore junglist tendencies take center stage on "Packed Lunch" as another rasping, doomsday bass rides the sonic spectrum, simultaneously spitting sparks and shaking the foundations to the core. Scattered arpeggios add a certain discord to the fray as the pounding breakbeat hammers out a pathway to oblivion. "Packed Lunch" definitely packs a punch, adding extra spice to an EP that's exclusively for the headstrong.
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COR 108EP
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Harvey McKay is back and stronger and harder than ever before. His last release for Cocoon climbed to the top position in the Beatport charts and stayed there for quite some time and it was about time that the Drumcode- and Soma recordings producers return to Cocoon. Cinnamon Kiss brings us spicy cinnamon flavor for the colder days and nights. A massive tech-house-tune with cool oldskool house chords and cool breakdowns that will put raver hands up in the air. "Push It" does what the names says and pushes the beat even higher -- a pumping techno monster that even features a little D-Shake sample.
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TRAPEZ 133EP
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These two tracks from Harvey McKay can loosely be considered dub techno, although they bend the genre in a nice way. "Pressure" carries that industrial early Basic Channel flair, but extends it to follow paths and discover regions of soulful deepness. When vocals kick in and big reverbs create space, kick and bassline make dinosaur steps look small. A raw and mega-cool affair. Play it out loud and people will suddenly leap forward. This is real techno.
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