Barely two beats per minute separate the fastest and slowest cuts on 'Drop Lowers Vol.2': from the 130 bpm shared by 'Like That' and 'Go Loco' down to the 128 of 'Puñeta'. With the tempo all but locked, the contrasts on this second volume from Drop Low Records — a Mérida, Mexico label devoted to underground house that keeps its demo inbox open to new artists — play out on other fronts. And those fronts are what hold the record together.
The first is tonal. The four tracks alternate minor and major modes with a regularity that doesn't feel accidental: 'Like That' opens in D minor, 'Go Loco' answers in G major, 'Puñeta' brings the shadow back in G-flat minor and 'Marciana' waves goodbye in D-flat major. Dark, light, dark, light: an emotional see-saw inside a single pulse that gives the EP more mileage than four cuts would suggest.
The second contrast is one of accent. Half the tracklist looks at the Anglo circuit from its titles and the other half refuses to translate itself: 'Puñeta' and 'Marciana' speak Spanish unapologetically, in line with the label's Mexican roots. The roster mirrors it: Vankey (ITA), the only name in the batch tagged as Italian, signs the shortest cut, a 4:51 'Go Loco' that makes its point without detours, against Ap010's 'Marciana', which at 5:42 is the longest piece and the one that allows itself the most stretch.
That leaves the contrast of hands: 'Like That' is the volume's only shared credit — Delatorre and Trembow opening the record four-handed — while Vankey, Kalma and Ap010 go it alone. Out of that comes a curious lesson in economy: when the gear never shifts, movement has to be found in key, in language and in length. 'Drop Lowers Vol.2' finds it in all three places.
Sources: Labelsbase · Beatport
