Batu
Omar McCutcheon’s celebrated work as Batu has pushed at the vanguard of bassweight dance music for more than 10 years, largely centred on his Timedance and A Long Strange Dream labels with notable excursions to respected platforms such as Hessle Audio and Livity Sound. His last solo release for another label was 2018’s Rebuilt 12″ for UK indie heavyweight XL Recordings. Throughout the evolution of his career, McCutcheon has mutated conventions around techno and soundsystem music with a precise intention according to the ideas and inspiration that drive him. As well as applying his affinity for sound design and composition to non-dancefloor projects, on recent singles he’s been drilling into the essence of his club-oriented work to hone the visceral impact of his tracks. On his first record for an outside label in seven years, Batu delivers a decisive statement on his recent focus on hypermodern club music with a distinctly UK streak. Question Mark heralds the launch Lethal Press, a boutique sister-label to Istanbul-based Oath of focused on exclusive releases from landmark artists. Question Mark represents the culmination of this specific area of exploration for McCutcheon’s work as Batu — a definitive statement on his deepening understanding of the mechanics of club music, bound together by a parallel embrace of cutting-edge software synthesis and the unmistakable flair of his expression. The four tracks on this new EP are charged with electric, dynamic lead lines that lend themselves to the restless futurism intrinsic to the Batu sound. Relishing the opportunity to create an EP in dialogue with a label compared to the autonomous work on his own imprints, McCutcheon has delivered four bolts of starkly original soundsystem music that carry the DNA of dubwise abstraction from the scenes that preceded his own musical journey.
Stage
Duplex
