Richard Sen, an old school graffiti writer turned DJ/ producer, has recently released a three track 12" led by a nine minute electro- funk A-side titled My Definition Of Funk. Built on a pulsing sequencer line, kick drum and synth stabs, the rhythms build getting chunkier and tougher. At one minute thirty a huge descending/ ascending bassline bounces in and vibrates round your speakers. Break beat and wonky synths come in with squealing topnotes. At five minutes there's a breakdown and Richard adds some Plastic Dreams style organ and then brings that rubbery bassline back, more sirens, breakbeat, rinse and repeat. It's a massively exhilarating piece of music, the sort of thing that leads to drinks being spilt and floors being ruined at parties.
Richard Sen's past includes music made as Hackney Vandal Patrol and Padded Cell and numerous one off singles for a variety of labels. In 2015 his Songs Of Pressure was remixed by Andrew Weatherall- one for another day perhaps. Back even further, in 2008, he remixed a track called Toys by Hedford Vachal, a crunchy piece of day- glo 00s acid house/ dark disco, a choppy guitar riff and bleepy synthline over looped bass and drum machine. A distorted vocal sings 'I remember a time/ when we were young/ so unsophisticated/ now everything has changed'. The synths go all wonked out and the vocal returns, warning about girls and boys hurting each other. The breakdown comes and is all filtered FX, handclaps and buzzing synths, before it all goes off again as the bass and drums come back in.
