Emika - Pretend / Professional Loving

There is always a stage in a genre’s lifespan where it reaches saturation point, and the music within becomes formulaic, staid and bland. Many people argue that dubstep has reached that point with the chart success of the likes of Magnetic Man and the mainstream dance records produced by Skream etc., which are accused of diluting the genre.

Bristol based vocalist and producer Emika refutes that suggestion with her double a-side new single ‘Pretend’ / ‘Professional Loving’ proving that there are still people making progressive and forward thinking takes on dubstep.

Emika deals in the dark and the seedy aspects of life and ‘Pretend’ makes for a particularly dark but compelling listen, her sullen glassy vocals gliding over the top of understated, minimal beats. There is a wonderful economy of sound here and not an inch of fat on a perfectly poised piece of classy electronica.

‘Professional Loving’ takes the mood even darker, if possible, as nothing more than a throbbing bass and some glitchy beats accompany the ghostly vocals. There are echoes of Portishead at their most haunting here but it is clear that Emika is an artist intent on following her own path.

Emika is never going to break through to the mainstream like some of her dubstep contemporaries, but for anyone looking for a deeper, darker and altogether more interesting take on this increasingly maligned genre then you can do no wrong with this excellent single.