Mastermind duo Ivy Lab released a 4-song EP early this month through Future Classic dubbed Demon Dust. The UK pair, also known as Sabre and Stray, have proven time after time their ingenuity and ferocious creativity, and have returned with yet another boundary-broadening release. Demon Dust demonstrates their ability to play with genre and emotion, as well as their willingness to chase untouched musical horizons. All in all, they know how to create a body of work that is both reminiscent and fresh.
This selection of songs has us singing at the top of our lungs and shaking ass like there’s no tomorrow. The project boasts Jersey club influences, echoing vocals, and burrowing rhythms, furthering their reputation of having an impressively expansive range. The first track, “Backshifting,” welcomes listeners into the project with thrumming breakbeats, high-energy flavor, and beautifully haunting vocals and lyrics. Released back in November, this track gave us a sweet peek into the project, and we are happy to say our sweet tooth has been duly satisfied.
Mixing Music and Movement
One of the artistic inclinations that makes Ivy Lab so unique is that they merge and blend their music with other visual art forms. In their Infinite Falling Ground tour visual, the art of dance was used to communicate and express their music. It added an extra layer to the experience that fully translated the guttural and visceral feeling of the project.
In tandem with the release of “Backshifting,” Ivy Lab released an IG reel featuring a movement from Kiara Mash. Fun and free, her hip-hop-inspired footwork compliments the music, giving the song a visual conduit in constant movement and fluctuation.
Back to Demon Dust…
Demon Dust‘s second track, “Fool,” is an otherworldly production. As it begins, you get the feeling of sinking underwater. Then, you’re swung into the body of the track like the moon pulls the tide. Hard-hitting drums cascade with warped vocal samples while still keeping that underlying, underwater feel. The core beat is highly danceable and is sure to transform the dance floor.
Their third and last original track shares the same name as the project. For good reason. The beauty of this song (and with Ivy Lab in general) is that their music is consistently unpredictable, exploratory, and can match a variety of energies. This track is no exception. “Demon Dust” adds a deliciously acidic flavor to the album. The song welcomes the listener in with a bubbly bass beat and piano riff, leading to an evocative and acidic body with a sprinkling of breakbeats along with the piano riff from the intro. This is one of those tracks you wish you could hear again for the first time over and over.
The last track is a remix of “Backshifting” by Nikki Nair. The differences between his version and the original involve a change in drum patterns and a “clubification” of the original track. It is interesting to have a remix of the first song at the end of the album, especially one so subtle. It gets our hopes up for a remix album in the future of the 2023 Ivy Lab releases.
“We’ve built a hunger to unleash a solid season of dance floor material and to do so in spaces we’ve either
Ivy Lab
neglected in recent years or yet to have turned our hand to. We’re still always gonna carry our baggage as bass heads with a love of hip-hop with us, but the genre pool where we can explore those themes is deeper than ever, and we have so much to say in that conversation”
So, if you’re ready to expand on your sonic horizons but don’t know where to start, Ivy Lab is sure to have a flavor fit for you. From a club beat to some grimy get-down sound, Sabre and Stray got you covered.
Listen to Demon Dust here:
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And if you’re looking for a solid playlist to follow, keep up with our weekly Spotify Playlist, Fresh Hunts. Whether it’s the newest genre exploration from Ivy Lab, all your other favorite artists, some old school, or underground—we just want you to hear it.
