Jerome Hill swerves up his debut LP “Flow Mechanics” on Hypercolour
A player at the coalface of the UK Techno/Rave/Breakbeat scene since the 1990s, Jerome Hill is something of a hidden treasure in underground circles. A long time purveyor of ecstatically twisted sounds, dextrous turntablist and talented producer in his own right, over the last 3 decades he has gone about his business with minimum fuss or fanfare.
A pillar of the London underground community he is inextricably part of, over the last decade or so Hill has also established his own labels Super Rhythm Trax, Don’t, Fat Hop and Hornsey Hardcore to much acclaim. Coupled with laying down a consistent stream of releases for imprints such as Accidental Jr, Exalt Records and I Love Acid.
The time is seemingly right then for him to mark out a debut LP “Flow Mechanics” and link up with Hypercolour – a natural ally when it comes to releasing music they like without ever pandering to trends.
Turning on the machines in some style and cooking up a twisted take on Techno packed full of punch, playful lines and inventive rhythms. Chin stroke tackle this is not. From roughly hewn broken beats, industrial-shaded jackers injected with plenty of sub heavy bass in between. It’s an album that wholly represents the sounds and scene that Hill has championed as a DJ, promoter and label owner for as long as we can remember.
As he put in a recent article: “I wanted to present a collection of tracks that represent my DJing style and that I’d play in various types of set at various times of the night. Plus, it was important for me to include some weird vocal skits, which I often use as bridges to distract from severe tempo or mood changes during sets. Ultimately I just wanted to do an album where each track is playable out on the dance floor.”
Featuring 8 full-throttle cuts destined for unadulterated speaker freakin’, you know this train is only going one way when the opening bleeps and over-driven acidic squeltches of “Walk The Plank” take hold. There’s slamming drum work aplenty to catch the midriff as you’re met with the angular tones of “Don’t Be Afraid” and the souped up breaks and arpeggiation of “The Doctor Will See You Now”.
You get little pause for breath as pumping electro cuts through on “Deafening Lull”, interspersed with incessant cry of ‘Oh My’ and punched up beats of “Brought Up Badly”. By the time you hit the turbo raveathon buttons of “Afterlife” and shake to the incessant metallic grind of “Knob Jitter” – there’s no place like having your head in the tweeter when the boom of “Stax Had The Funk” works its bass-fuelled bone crunching magic. Ending out on the stutter and sway of “More Chicken”, there’s definitely a large grin you’ll find hard to step away from, as things come to a close.
A joyous, hi-octane stomp through the facets of peak time sonics, “Flow Mechanics” is woven together with an authentic sound palette that catches the imagination with a mischievous demeanour, and damn well makes sure it doesn’t take itself too seriously in the process – a mission well accomplished.
