Silva Bumpa – Hard 13

By Jordan Moussavi

Silva Bumpa is back with stomping garage house awash with vintage flavors, contemporary production and a no-nonsense swagger.

“Next 2 Me” is tight and concise with airy wide work. A floaty lead sits, nestled in the centre of a shuffling drum pattern, groovy bass, and sherbet-sweet vocals. Oneshots and samples ping off in the bleachers, embellishments that help lift the track into something altogether more ethereal.

“BWU” is noticeably uptempo compared to its predecessor – it’s raucous speed garage, custom-built for peak-time dancing, and is a great showcase of Silva Bumpa’s ability to reel in classic sounds and mount them onto a contemporary club setting. The music is playful but doesn’t sacrifice craft as a result, and has the added bonus of being joined by a nostalgic, organ-style lead. As one Bandcamp user writes: “I guess every summer is bass line [sic] summer.”

“Test”, much to my pleasure, leans into bassline and grime influences. Dancehall vocals and detuned leads skunk up the vibe, quickly segueing into a warping bassline that swells atop 4×4 drums and gunshot samples. Rather fitting, given that the track is a veritable gun finger tune for when things start getting saucy in the dance… Quite.

Get 2 Know (Organ Mix) is a welcome final addition that confirms the classic 4×4 influences running from top to bottom. Organs are experiencing a steady revival, enjoying an increasingly large presence in underground and mainstream music alike. Whether it’s the rose-tinted glasses or the heatwave, I personally prefer the organ mix and will be placing it in my inevitable muddle of ‘Summer 2023’ playlists.

“Hard 13” is full of fun, loaded with to-the-point party starters from a promising talent in the 4×4/garage space.

Someone grab us a tinny!

 

Posted on August 3, 2023