Ossia – The Marzahn Versions

Don Ossia setting the dance floor squarely in his sights with this belter of an EP for BH.

Following on from his ‘Devil’s Dance’ album at the start of the year, The Marzahn Versions takes his inimitable sound palette and takes on the floor with a pair of, er pairs – that is, two originals and then their contrasting dub mixes.

Up top, the unrelenting thump of the ‘Crowd Psychology’ sets the tone for the EP right from the start – paired with an infectious lead melody which gives way to the paranoia inducing middle section – weaving myriad sonic textures through his maze of delays, vintage FX and slightly used & abused mixing desk as only he can.

The contrasting cut – ‘Mob Psychology’, cuts the original right back to the bone in brutalist style – the soundtrack to the post apocalyptic cityscape. Traces of the once familiar melody echo through the chamber, bruised by the omnipresent kick drum and scarred by scattershot snare hits – Incredibly heavy and unsettling in the best way.

Hack Dance is a cast iron slab of industrial steppa’s pressure – utterly uncompromising, the sound of the resistance – the soundtrack to Shakka playing in a fallout shelter in 2050. The dub version hollows out the original to deadly effect – sonar pings ricocheting off the outreaches of the echo chamber while the lead lines stretch out into infinity.

Big tip from us!