We've got a lot of time for The Maghreban here at Test Pressing. His stuff always feels super-fresh, especially when working in the house/dance sphere. Maybe as he's primarily informed by quite a different style of music to most other producers. By his own admission, he's a relative newcomer to the genre, but, as noted by DJ Sotofett on one of his excellent Balamii radio shows, this can often pay dividends.
Over lockdown, Ayman has spent time working on his Dr Zygote hip-hop alias with pretty remarkable success, and now a new project has emerged with minimal fuss on Bandcamp. People, it's 100% worthy of your attention.
Brief Work is a collaboration between himself and a singer wishing to remain anonymous. A common bond was formed over "playing some Allez Allez and Swamp Children records a couple of summers ago" and "Jump" is their first release.
This is leftfield, deviant, punk-funk with one of those slightly flat, ever-so-UK vocal deliveries that I just love to death. Catchy and edgy in equal measures, as they say themselves, "addiction woes and gospel pianos". Dancing on the edge...
As if this wasn't enough, we get an astounding dub harking back to those experimental b-side 12" collisions of the eighties. A masterclass is excess and restraint, music pushed to the edge of collapse before emerging from the shrapnel of delay, stripped back and ready to go again.
Jump is available now on Bandcamp