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| Pitchfork |
 Since 2007, Hessle Audio has played host to a smattering of singles from UK bass music's most exciting names, including James Blake, Untold, and Blawan. The label has also released work by its co-owners: David Kennedy (Pearson Sound/ Ramadanman), Kevin McAuley (Pangaea), and Ben Thomson (Ben UFO). If fellow UK imprint Hotflush explores the breadth of bass sounds in electronic music, Hessle explores their depth, stitching the concept of sternum-shaking low-end into the fibers of their style.This approach has led to a rupturing interpretation of dubstep and techno that often concedes beauty or charm but has not precluded curiosity or exploration. The label hosted what is arguably Blake's most progressive work (The Bells Sketch EP), and Kennedy has also been instrumental in electronic music's adoption of the footwork sound (an influence that pervades Addison Groove's "Fuk tha 101" and Pearson Sound's "Stifle" here). 116 & Rising, Hessle's first full-length release, offers one disc of classic label cuts and one disc of new material. The label's tendency to sequester itself in 12"s, as well as its notoriously stingy release schedule, makes the retrospective portion particularly valuable. Presented at dance-friendly tempos, these 12 tracks are split among only seven producers, forfeiting range for tense, agile deployment. The tracks are not about establishing a mood; they concern themselves first with bass and second with the ways rhythm can aid, embellish, circle, and attack that bass. Blawan, the label's most exciting young product, enacts this most clearly on "Fram", which is the sound of a Transformer continually unfolding: exponentially mechanistic, ugly but undeniably neat....full text |
| Residentadvisor |
| Hessle Audio's first compilation begins with "Body (Music Mix)" by Elgato, which subsumes uneven 2-step into his usual swirl of slow decay and sustain. It's not the kind of thing you begin a compilation with, but then a label compilation is always an odd little thing anyway. There's been no shortage of them lately from some of electronic music's most revered and forward-thinking imprints, and one from the label run by Pearson Sound, Pangaea and Ben UFO—a triumvirate of scene-altering influence right there—seems like a surefire bet for strong returns. Like the recent Hotflush compilation, 116 & Rising features a disc of brand new tracks as well as a look at the label's short but storied past. The retrospective does a decent job of highlighting the most exciting moments from a label that manages to be on point almost 100% of the time. Putting exuberant outbursts like Ramadanman's junglist epic "Don't Change for Me" and Blawan's "Fram" next to more reserved offerings from Joe and Pangaea confirms the label's idiosyncratic sense of rhythm. However, for a label often held up for its vast range of styles, comparing the disc of new tracks to the retrospective disc seems to show a more collective tendency begin to emerge. While the label remains all over the place, there's something surprisingly coherent about 116 & Rising. There's a conscious move towards what feels like subtlety. Even when the LP hits the corners of its most experimental moments, it still sounds tight and bristly. Untold and Blawan, two producers known for heavy lash-out bangers, both rein things in for more refined variants on their usual sounds. On the other hand, Cosmin TRG's new(ish) housed-up techno direction perfectly fits the label's slightly morphing aesthetic, a little polite but a little banging....full text |
| Junodownload |
| At a time when music critics and fans alike are more than happy to endlessly debate what the next stage of dubstep’s progression should be called, Hessle Audio present 116 & Rising – a rich demonstration of how the label has progressed over the past four years and an exciting portent of where they might go in the future. Whichever format you choose to sink into, when you come out the other side you can’t help but be fully impressed. As anyone who has followed the label’s progression will attest, it’s natural that the triple vinyl edition contains the most swagger, with the design work from regular collaborator Will Bankhead looking stunning across the gatefold sleeve and the twelve new and exclusive tracks spread across three slabs of vinyl, two to a side. Furthermore the inclusion in this edition of all 24 tracks on CD makes it the smart choice to indulge in. If you can see past the temptation to merely sit and admire the artwork and actually bask in the music on offer, you will be richly rewarded with an array of brilliant material from the Hessle camp. Mainstays such as Elgato, Untold and James Blake naturally feature alongside contributions from the two thirds of the Hessle Audio decision-making team that produce. Flexing their status at the top of the game, Hessle can also call on new tracks from Addison Groove, Peverelist and D1, which is clearly a move to show which of their contemporaries has helped to shape the direction of the label since it launched in 2007....full text |
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