Deamonds - A Classic (2019)

Lean and mean drill/afrobeats/grime mutations, East London Club Trax style, from the lesser spotted Alex Deamonds
Deamonds’ 2017 EPs ‘Life Is Just A Game’ got a lot of rotation up here, so it’s good to hear the underrated producer back on road, taking cues from up-to-the-second movements in his home city and adding his own vinegary flavour of melody to skeletal riddims in 12 instrumentals.
He turns out strong highlights between the chiming afrobeats swang of ‘Progress Shmogress’, the icy charm of ‘Goodnight’ and the winking suss of ‘1Q84’, along with harder drill chops in the likes of ‘Confirmation’ and the NASA-clad ‘Starship’, while the warped kern of ‘Tradiotre’, the rudely blown-out bang of ‘Carbine’ and the mystic tons of ‘Exodus (Skitz)’ and the beatless ‘Division’ fall squarely under his own, mutant category.