Look What They've Done - By Ed Rush
TITLE: Look What They've Done
ARTIST: Ed Rush
GENRE: Breakbeat / Hardcore / Rave
MOOD: Eurphoric
SIMILAR TO: Optical, Doc Scott
12" Of The Day: 'The Psychic Ed Rush' - Look What They've Done
This week I’m taking a throwback to the early days of Ben Settle, aka Ed Rush - one of the masterminds behind the pioneering Virus Recordings label with Optical. Settle’s 1992 “Look What They’ve Done” single was self released as “The Psychic Ed Rush” and featured three all around weighty breakbeat hardcore tracks.
A:
A choral chant begins the dastardly “Look What They’ve Done.” 4/4 kick drums punches along with the breakbeat. Korg M1 pianos and a pitched up Donna Summer sample interlude the segments of hardcore darkness. The bassline is deep and dub influenced. On the whole the production is clear and dynamic, a hallmark of later Ed Rush & Optical tracks. Sampling The New Seekers for the titular sample it feels almost like a tease to those who object to the rampant sampling in hardcore music.
B1:
“What If My Heart Stops?” is the most tense and frantic cut of the record. A nervous rambling of string stabs are rolled up with layered breaks. A bassline rhythmic enough to keep a heart on beat but enough sound effects darting across the soundstage to throw one’s imagination to other worlds. Re-pitched acapellas and a grimey bassline lead us into the second half, where the rave euphoria melds with the darker edges of the bass.
B2:
“Look What They've Done (Dubmix)” does nothing if not live up to its name. The drums are soloed and allowed room to echo around. It forms a minimal reprise that closes out the EP and provides a handy tool for DJs rocking a warehouse rave.