Guttstar: Summer Saturation Review
Published: October 26, 2012
By: Alex Silva
Portland-based Guttstar adds yet another weapon to his arsenal with seven tracks of creatively constructed trap music. Straying a bit from the traditional sounds of his first few albums, Guttstar uses his familiarity with the distinguishing features of dance music’s latest fad and incorporates them into his newest album Summer Saturation. By no means, however, is this an abandonment of his established style. Rather, his latest release can be seen as a much more experimental and evolutionary piece where he tests his limits as an electronic music producer.
Summer Saturation melds the foundations of hip-hop and electronic music to create a stylized version of the new hybrid genre. He blends the trademark low frequency sounds of dub music alongside edgy rap samples and then delicately grounds them all with the aggressive basslines of modern glitch-hop. Filled with choppy trip-hop beats, deep Dutch house synths, stammering hi-hats, and crisp snares, it’s everything you would want from a trap record. Guttstar’s ability to create an album of such caliber proves himself capable of adapting to the ever-changing demands of today’s electronic music scene without simultaneously depreciating the value of his work.
Although nothing short of reminiscent vibes from some of the earlier pioneers of the popular chopped-and-screwed hype that dominated the earlier 2000s, Summer Saturation manages to take on a whole new form that redefines what it means to make Southern crunk. It’s definitely something that will make you want to bounce around your bedroom and boss up as you blast it driving down the street with your windows down. If you haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing this up-and-coming talent perform, most notably at this year’s Burning Man, make sure to grab his newest album available for free via Bandcamp. Don’t forget to rock your shades.
Portland-based Guttstar adds yet another weapon to his arsenal with seven tracks of creatively constructed trap music. Straying a bit from the traditional sounds of his first few albums, Guttstar uses his familiarity with the distinguishing features of dance music’s latest fad and incorporates them into his newest album Summer Saturation. By no means, however, is this an abandonment of his established style. Rather, his latest release can be seen as a much more experimental and evolutionary piece where he tests his limits as an electronic music producer.
Summer Saturation melds the foundations of hip-hop and electronic music to create a stylized version of the new hybrid genre. He blends the trademark low frequency sounds of dub music alongside edgy rap samples and then delicately grounds them all with the aggressive basslines of modern glitch-hop. Filled with choppy trip-hop beats, deep Dutch house synths, stammering hi-hats, and crisp snares, it’s everything you would want from a trap record. Guttstar’s ability to create an album of such caliber proves himself capable of adapting to the ever-changing demands of today’s electronic music scene without simultaneously depreciating the value of his work.
Although nothing short of reminiscent vibes from some of the earlier pioneers of the popular chopped-and-screwed hype that dominated the earlier 2000s, Summer Saturation manages to take on a whole new form that redefines what it means to make Southern crunk. It’s definitely something that will make you want to bounce around your bedroom and boss up as you blast it driving down the street with your windows down. If you haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing this up-and-coming talent perform, most notably at this year’s Burning Man, make sure to grab his newest album available for free via Bandcamp. Don’t forget to rock your shades.
