With all the scariness going around and festivals getting cancelled left and right both in the US and Europe, artists like Mob Tactics are sending an unintentional message that rave and music will endure. “Pure X,” the duo’s newest upcoming track on RAM, was obviously made before the panic but with its snappy, snares, ravey synths and a touch of foghorn, it certainly serves to remind that dance music has endured much more and much longer than this year’s festie flops.
“Pure X” has a lot of old school flavor, with ravey sinewave synths opening the track and the main synth hearkening back to early techstep. With a strong Mortal Kombat feel, the boys also seem keen to channel their inner techno gods. The beat in “Pure X” is also old school gold, comprised almost entirely of amens and a heavy bass kick, it’s essentially a sped up breakbeat, per the early UK hardcore sounds and US breaks that gave birth to both speed garage and jungle.
As is almost always true for Mob Tactics, “Pure X” is not a one-trick pony and thus not all old school. A very modern foghorn sample flares in and out between phrases but it’s not a typical foghorn. It moves faster, is a little higher pitched and is integrated into the track rather than coming over the top and blasting the whole thing. It’s called blending, people, and it would be nice to get back to it one of these days. Luckily Mob Tactics are leading the charge.
All the above-described elements don’t fully explain “Pure X”; there’s a lot more to it. Given what a dancefloor smasher it is, however, it’s best to just pop it on and skank out as that’s definitely the point of this track: no matter what era and no matter what’s going on in the world, those of us who love the dance will continue to rave on.
“Pure X” drops tomorrow on RAM Records. Check the RAM website for stream and purchase details.
