I don’t think I’ve ever done a Saturdance feature about a track as hard or underground as this one, and for that, I’ve got producer Paul Epworth (Florence + The Machine, Adele, Friendly Fires) to thank.
Earlier this week, Epworth tweeted a link to Blawan‘s “What You Do With What You Have,” calling it an “enormous” tune. Huge-sounding it is, and pack a punch it does. Blawan (aka Jamie Roberts), who recently reworked Radiohead’s “Bloom,” has served up a deliciously dark trek through acid house that employs some Wax Trax industrial squirm too (styles born in Chicago long before the lad from South Yorkshire, England was).
What I wouldn’t do to hear “What You Do With What You Have” on a proper soundsystem in some mega club, but for now, I’ll heed the track’s advice and make do with what I have. Hear here:
The motivational vocal sample at the core of “What You Do With What You Have” comes from a lecture that legendary Detroit techno/house producer Moodyman (aka Kenny Dixon Jr.) gave last year at London’s Red Bull Music Academy. Follow this link to hear it in full (skip ahead to 18:06), as there’s more to Moodyman’s directive, albeit peppered with some colorful language.
“Vibe Decorium,” the flip to “What You Do With What You Have,” is intensely hypnotic, with Blawan laying a thick four-on-the-floor beat under a vaguely tribal-sounding vocal sample.
Purchase Blawan – “What You Do With What You Have” via iTunes.