Gobby – ‘New Hat’ EP [UNO NYC]

Stunning 12″ this, wish I’d been able to get it sooner as it’s pretty special in my opinion. Then again we’ve always been massive fans of squelchy stomped on electronics blended in to raw house music. Surprising then that we seem to be playing catch up in checking out the artist that is Gobby, who’s got it spot on.

Not much is known about the cat behind the releases, so let’s stick to what we do. We know it’s a him. We know he’s from New York, based in Harlem, and produced the bulk of Mykki Blanco’s beats. Loads of stores / lazy bloggers are also citing his association with ‘New York’s Underground Illuminati‘ without any further explanation as to what this is or who else is considered part of it (all it takes is one eh?), but not sure anyone really knows what this is about. Also, Gobby is apparently a badass drummer, having joined Hype Williams on stage earlier this year and managing to compliment the inimitable duo.

Gobby boasts a pretty decent youtube channel too, under the name Irodori9. He may not have the most clips up there, but certainly more than your average producer, and the quality is miles above most, especially when you take in to account how many different styles he’s got happening. Tracks could sit equally at home on Triangle as Perc as CLR as Planet Mu. Gobby’s even got his own remix of Lil’ Wayne’s A Milli up there that embarasses the over-hyped alternatives, letting the lyrics sit uncomfortably over raw, pre-recorded beats and field samples. Other tracks on there such as Slick Boi Gel or Come Home have a more consistent vibe and sound as if they evolved out of one particular sample, but are so thickly saturated and twisted by the time they’re delivered it’s hard to work out exactly which one.

New Hat is the 12″ released on UNO NYC, who’ve been doing well up to date but have smashed it out the park with this one. A three-track affair, it’s the b-side dedicated Viewing Hrs. (Zzz) that you’re most likely going to hear out or on radio, with the most straight forward beat patterns and the closest thing you’ll come to that’s a drop. The second cut on the A – Blankface ATM – digitally copies modern electronic masters such as Keith Fullerton-Whitman or Sculpture in it’s bleeps and randomised structure, not quite going as far out as the comparisons but keeping it closer to the Brainfeeder family bpms and bounces before taking a twisted kick up in speed and flow and turning in to a hi-end house track without stopping the journey. It’s the Seagate cut, however that’s the stand-out for me. Proper ass-detroying rolling techno beats made out of garbage that’s probably too dirty to even fit in a nice clean sampler. It takes everything good about experimental electronic music and everything good about brutal raw house and marries them together in to an emotional and beautifully disturbing track.

It’s essential that I find somewhere in Sydney where I can actually play this stuff out. Not just Gobby but Ekoplekz, Hieroglyphic Being, Waveform Transmissions, Tom Richards and the rest of them. The lack of decent to venue to do so really makes you appreciate the creativity in it even more, and only increases the want to share it. 

There’s been a video done for Seagate, which you can check out along with the full track below. The creative and technical skills are credited to Jamie Krasner, who’s done a decent job, and is also possibly the James K who split production duties with Gobby on his Soundcloud track Pet Shop. Big ups UNO NYC and Gobby, stunning plate.