Since 2011, London natives Alfie Granger-Howell and Nick Harriman have been putting out their own bespoke brand of club music under the guise of Dusky, releasing on top shelf record labels such as Anjunadeep, Aus Music, and Polydor Records. 2014 also saw the pair launch their 17 Steps imprint, where the likes of Fort Romeau, Eris Drew, TERR, and Third Son have since released. Returning to 17 Steps for their fourth career studio album, and their second under their own label, the
duo drop new long player ‘Pressure’, just one year on from their 2021-released JOY LP. ‘Pressure’ combines 11 new productions which cover a wide range of underground styles, including house, bassline, and garage, and features contributions from Mariella, El-B, and Interplanetary Criminal. It provides a healthy dose of Dusky’s typical approach to house music, heavily filtered basslines, pitched up vocal chops, and electrifying synth pads dance together throughout most of the album, though things go toward a different direction on tracks like ‘Northbound’, ‘Double Bubble’, and ‘Bubblin’, where dense, aggressive basslines take centre stage. As a whole it’s a well-polished blend of straight up dancefloor weapons, and more playful, radio-friendly dance tracks.
Where to start:
Endless Sky: Dusky’s typical deep and groovy club sound
FM Dreams: Stabbing synth chords and playful vocal chops
Stepper: Sustained reese bass meets melodic vocal rhythms
Previous from Dusky:
Outer LP (2016, Polydor Records)
JOY LP (2021, 17 Steps)
If you like this then check out:
Cubicolor – Hardly A Day, Hardly A Night LP (2020, Anjunadeep)
Trance Wax – Trance Wax LP (2020, Anjunabeats)
Dusky – Pressure LP is out now on 17 Steps.