We’ve been keeping a close eye on producer Asdasfr Bawd (aka 19 year old Alex Clayton) since falling in love with his spilt single release ‘Nobody’/ ‘Love’ a year ago.
The Melbourne talent has just dropped his new six tack EP titled Underpass on Solitare Recordings and it’s textured journey into the UK grime and footwork influenced mind of this incredibly exciting (relatively) new name on Melbourne’s electronic music scene.
With a background in classical music, Clayton’s instinct for composition and his ability to push the boundaries of sonic space capture your ears almost immediately.
To celebrate the release of Underpass, Clayton has kindly penned us a track by track accompaniment to the EP which you can check out below. If you like what you’re hearing be sure to pop by the Asdasfr Bawd Facebook page and Solitare Recordings Bandcamp store.
Underpass
I probably wrote this on a train which is why I called it ‘Underpass’. It was the first song to go on the EP and it really inspired me to write the others. It’s a essentially a throwback mid-2000s dubstep track, with some laid back flute samples and a rimshot that snaps at your heels.
Sayer
A more stripped-back minimalist track, I wanted to see how I could give anticipations of drops and climaxes with very few elements. Reverb’d out vocals gave the impression of floating before hitting the floor hard.
Sly Defender
A more garage driven track, with swirling synths and swung hi-hats. Again, more of a throwback piece than a progressive and experimental one. The title comes from a popular 2000s PlayStation game that I was obsessed with as a child.
Negative Energy
RnB vocal acapellas work ridiculously well without much being thrown at them, so this track came together immediately. The percussion is built up from various things in my bedroom being hit and tapped and then sampled.
Alsp
Crazy footwork experiment that was inspiring by listening to a lot of Addison Groove and Machinedrum at the time. Another track that just threw itself together and seemed to make sense immediately to me. It was fun making something that was a lot faster and merciless.
Packed Heat
This was originally a minimalist polymetric composition that I had made from sampling my crappy Yamaha digital keyboard. Instead I decided to finish the EP off with this one, adding a heftier bass vibe and some floating vocals. I used to listen back to this while on my commute in the city, and it really gave me a sense of place amongst all the people running around.
You can buy the Underpass EP via the Solitare Recordings Bandcamp store.
