‘Processed Mash’ writhes with the kind of bottom end that makes East London hatchbacks and Bay Area lowriders bounce into the early hours of Saturday morning. True to the song’s name, every sample is individually processed, which provides the song a great deal of depth. ‘Gangsta’ features Melbourne rapper Soma with some respectable verses, but it still ends up being the weakest track. Steele forgoes a lot of what makes his songs interesting to simply fit in the bars. A remix derailing structure wouldn’t be unwelcome.
‘Engineer’ mixes in the treble of hyperactive tech while maintaining the offensive, UK garage drum lines. ‘BitDrop Pt4’ ups the urgency while maintaining the aggressive filtering that makes both ‘BitDrop’ tracks so dynamic.
It’s this use of space that makes Component such a great record. The reason the compositions pop is that they’re teeming with brief moments of silence. Whether a metallic scrape sheers off into the distance or a highpass filter swallows a pulse, the listener’s attention is always being refocussed on the next scripted moment. Component is a keeper.
8/10
