Rustie – Jagz The Smack

Label: Stuffrecords – STUFF005
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP, Limited Edition
Country: UK
Released: Aug 2007
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop
Style: Crunk, Bass Music, Electro, Dubstep, Glitch Hop
Condition: Near Mint

Before Glass Swords, before the Warp deal, before any of it — there was Jagz The Smack. Russell Whyte's first official release as Rustie, issued on Stuffrecords in 2007 at the height of the purple sound wave emanating from Britain alongside Hudson Mohawke and Joker, is a record that shows the template for everything that followed in messy, primitive, entirely compelling form.

Five sparse, repetitive takes on dubstep that are stupidly simple in the best possible way — the compositions scattershot and random on the surface, yet flowing with a smoothness that speaks to an innate and fully formed musical instinct. Clipper, Jagz The Smack, Crooked, Pendulum and Response are not polished or particularly brilliant in isolation, but the uniqueness and originality that would define Rustie's career is already unmistakably present, cutting through the tape distortion and wacky textures with the confidence of a producer who already knows where he is going. Essential early documentation of one of UK bass music's most singular talents, before the rest of the world caught on.

A1. Clipper
A2. Jagz The Smack
A3. Crooked
B1. Pendulum
B2. Response