There’s no overstating the importance of the beat in a song like “Overjoyed,” and Head Fake and Dub Fu Masters make no play to do as much in their new collaborative EP, out everywhere this summer. Head Fake Vs Dub Fu Masters starts and ends with the muscularity of its grooves, but rather than reveling in the petty machismo so many electronica collabs tend to, this is an EP that takes things a step further towards the postmodern. For every enormous beat, there’s a supple melodicism to match, making this quite the rich treat for your ears indeed.
The narratives in Head Fake Vs Dub Fu Masters aren’t defined by the melodies so much as they are the tension between the players as the climactic moment of each song comes to fruition. “Trump Funk,” for example, uses its strangulating arrangement to put forth a mood that lyrics about the former President have all but summed up on one punk record or another, with quite the dynamic results I might add. It’s so much more stimulating than what the status quo can produce, and no matter where you’re coming from here, this is the kind of material that speaks for itself in terms of thoughtfulness.
“One Step,” the opening number in the record, is by far the most amorous of the set, but there’s a balanced sonic romanticism to be found in pretty much every moment of Head Fake Vs Dub Fu Masters. It’s hard to debate the fact that they’re engaging in a bit of hero-worship when it comes to the retro stylization of “Overjoyed,” but beyond that, it’s all a pleasant homage to the OGs in electronica that doesn’t devolve into throwback predictabilities as much as one might assume it would.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Head-Fake-Vs-Dub-Masters/dp/B08NJB6F8L
There isn’t a spot of unwanted indulgence in this disc and I think this really goes to show you what can be accomplished when the passion either matches or surpasses the level of commitment you have. I don’t feel like Dub Fu Masters or Head Fake came to the studio with a set concept in mind; their jamming is too open-ended and freeform to suggest otherwise, and I would press any critic who says that the avant-gardism in the acts’ process isn’t the main reason it should fascinate indie fans and mainstream followers alike.
Head Fake Vs Dub Fu Masters is a striking EP collaboration that I’d like to see expanded into a proper LP before the year is over, but I can also respect where both of these creative forces would want to go different paths with their next projects as well. There’s a lot of creative magic in the air here, and if it can be spread out across multiple scenes, styles, and songs, I don’t protest this being the seed for a lot of new ideas both Dub Fu Masters and Head Fake have about music. So far, neither one has done me wrong.
Rachel Townsend