DVA – Fly Juice [EP stream]

DVA’s got to feel like it’s been a decent year’s graft. With hindsight, 2012 has been something of a personal watershed, seeing him transcend his reputation as a solid UK funky/grime DJ and loveable Rinse FM breakfast host. While other Hyperdub album releases have attracted louder outpourings of praise (let’s face it, DVA’s keeping good company), debut album ‘Pretty Ugly’ stands as one of the most genuinely wayward, quietly innovative works to crawl off the UK dancefloor in 2012.

After a few spins, the ‘Fly Juice’ EP doesn’t quite match the debut’s wonderfully wide-eyed – at times bordering on schizophrenic – aesthetic. Things feel more tightly moulded here, with house and funky beats likely to flow far more smoothly in the mix than some of those chaotic ‘Pretty Ugly’ cuts. Still, the lead track sharply dichotomises its staccato beats and juke-y vocals against a bed of soulful pianos, and Rumours – featuring vocals from labelmate Inga Copeland that sound a bit like they were recorded down a well – twists and shifts with mercurial oomph.

The ‘Fly Juice’ EP is being released as a 4-track double vinyl, along with a meatier 8-track digital release. You can stream it in its longer format, via Spotify, below:

Hyperdub released the ‘Fly Juice’ EP on the 19th November