Artist: Chris Salt
Title: Dub Sonar / Distorted Reality
Label: Silver Planet Recordings
By: Simon Jones | 27 December 2003
Tracklist:

• A: Dub Sonar
• B: Distorted Reality

Chris Salt "Dub Sonar / Distorted Reality"

Chris Salt is the latest signing to the Silver Planet roster. A 22 year old Cambridge graduate, Chris's journey into the world of production started as youngster playing around on his computer, but influenced by the growing rave and trance scenes of the 90's soon took a more serious interest. Soon he would acquire a set of decks and begin djing, which only served to compliment his skills. As 2002 came around, he had finally refined his skills to a level where labels and djs alike were starting to take notice of his material, and now in 2003 comes his debut AA single, featuring the tracks 'Dub Sonar' and 'Distorted Reality'.

'Dub Sonar' has already received accolades from DJs such as Cass, Jonathan Lisle and Nick Warren, and it's not hard to see why. Some deep soundscapes house a rolling breakbeat bassline, with big melodic keys drifting in and out of the groove in a sublime and hypnotic style. Bubbling synths rise from behind, adding depth to the track, at the same time keeping the pace moving along. Fading down to a solo during the break, a series of drops are prevalent throughout the latter half, adding the final touch to a superb debut from this newcomer.

'Distorted Reality' sticks to a similar melodic style, but layers it into a twisted and sinister groove. Synths layers rise up through the tough beats and drifting bassline, fluctuating as a vocal hook floats over the top, sending ripples through the assorted sound patterns. Middle eastern atmospherics and fills work in tandem with the rumbling bass, put the subtle changes are what keeps the track interesting, but yet falls just short of the quality of it's counterpart.

A decent outing from a youngster who's skills show much potential, and hopefully with the right allowance of time and motivation from the right channels to develop his sound further, 2004 should see a lot of promising things from Chris Salt.