ArtistInfo

Liar
Mas

Album 2013 on Infinite Machine label
Dance (UK Garage, Bassline, Techno)

In anticipation of the many sounds he'll be showcasing in his forthcoming flurry of spring and summer releases, and in commemoration of the nearly-synchronous milestones of both 3000 SC followers and 3000 FB fans, Romanian mystery-man Liar drops a 3-track freelease via Infinite Machine Singles, titled "Mas", first of a 4-part thematic series of EPs he'll be exploring throughout 2013. Boasting the production values you've come to expect from IM's resident engineer and musical polymath, “Mas” is otherwise very different from Liar's previous offerings, in that it's a bass-heavy, high-octane, club-oriented banger trio. Eclectic even within its own confines, “Mas” touches on a variety of ethnic motifs, club-favored genres, and stylistic influences, with each track essentially being a nostalgic bootleg remix of a track from Liar's childhood. This is truest for opener, “Giovanni”, a trap remix of Sash!'s “Adelante”, that could be found guilty of being part of the “Brace yourselves, trap remixes of fucking everything are coming.” meme. Liar's love for the original, his cheeky awareness and resulting sense of humor throughout renders that a moot point. Cheese abounds, but it's of the expensive variety - Camembert, Reblochon, Époisses... Seemingly unchanged from “Adelante” in its opening, it subverts the original's drop, exploding into a controlled, yet escalating chaos of 808s, roars, cars skidding, rave candy, thunder, acidic arps, lazy horns, dogs barking, a whole army surplus warehouse of guns firing, and an uplifting, gatling gun finale... everything but the kitchen sink. La vida es corta. “Ravnos” interpolates local Romanian gypsy craze “Turceasca Criminală” atop a future footwork backdrop. The intricate beat gallops astride a square bass monster, nosebleed-inducing strobe-synths keep the energy of the “Turceasca...” sample consistent, and Liar's trademark musicality and soulful vox cuts are never abandoned. Ia șefule că e locu' tău. Previously featured on Life Crushed's “Favored III” compilation, alongside tracks from the likes of Happa, Twin Empire and Arapaima, “Nosferatu” is a more subdued and darker affair. Comfortably marrying techno, garage and hardcore, while confined to the trappings of neither, and unhinged from any conventional rhythmic pulse, it blasts along as, seemingly, a dubby kick'n'stick sinfonietta, before some very recognizable vox drop in, fully driving home the abyssal aesthetic. The second half heightens the pressure via the arrival of a crushing reece bass, that shambles throughout for the remainder of the track. It ends with whimper... Te deja con ganas de más.

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