Ambient Babestation Meltdown and JBS have teamed up for a new EP, ‘Who Goes There’, on Glasgow’s Optimo Music. Listen to ‘Dead Or Alive’ below.
Inspired by sci-fi, literature and old VHS tapes, the duo sculpt four transportive tracks of wavy EBM and gnarly downtempo electronics, all hinged on Ambient Babestation Meltdown’s resonant vocals, spoken in an ensnaring, FX-altered monotone. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer,” she intones on the opening track, ‘Litany’, echoing over a tidal wash of distortion, buzzing synths and sirens.
It gives way to the EP’s punchiest cut, ‘Dead Or Alive’, which you can hear below. A marching, technoid beat and sizzling bassline projects ABM’s biting, sardonic vocals to a looming height: “Buddy, I think you’re slime. You’re gonna be a bad motherfucker”. An eerie melody runs beneath the track’s crunchy groove, lending a noirish narrative flair to its dancefloor pomp. It’s dark, snarling, heavy and impossible to resist.
‘The Other Place’ and ‘Who Goes There’ take the tempo down again, leaning fully into sci-fi themes, coating ABM’s voice in alien bass wobbles, acid gurgles and spaced-out beats.
Set for release on cassette as well as digitally, the B-side of the tape edition will feature an exclusive mix recorded by Ambient Babestation Meltdown titled, ‘A Sight For Men’.
‘Who Goes There’ will be released on 1st July. Pre-order the digital version on Beatport.
Revisit Ambient Babestation Meltdown’s DJ Mag Fresh Kicks mix and interview here. Read DJ Mag's recent At Home With interview with Optimo here.
JBS is a producer based in South London, and co-founder of the Ears Have Eyes label.
