Kenny Glasgow - Mean Machine

October 23, 2020 - Turbo Recordings

Kenny Glasgow throws open your thick, double lined blackout curtains. Harsh sunlight spills forth over the room, its warmth reaching your skin at the same time as the brightness overwhelms your vision. Glasgow wastes no time with ‘Hot Mess;’ he is here to watch you dance, whether you were dancing before or not. The beat provided is ample. Ripe bass lines mirror glistening synths and a matching jewel-toned beat. Like a slightly mundane modern horcrux, the artist knows the power of this music and has imbued a part of himself into the track, a constant surveyor of the movement. For now, we dance alone and he watches, but it won’t always be like this. Soon we will dance together in groups, and still Glasgow will be there. Watching.

The curtains are still drawn, but the sun has been eclipsed by ‘Weird Science.’ Darkness spreads where there was once light. Cymbals ride in on the icy chill of untimely nighttime. Hollow blips and bloops ring out from enlarged, haunted castanets; the space becomes cavernous and empty. Equally haunted distortion ribbons weave in and out of the sonic landscape, their dissonance providing ample anxiety amongst the sharp percussion. 

The cavernous expanse has more to offer with ‘Something Special.’ Elements lay themselves out like deconstructed hors d’oeuvres, small sounds given room to spread their sonic tendrils through chilly reverberation. Amongst the remoteness, Islands of Flow are found where all the elements link up to form a landing of solid groove, usually accompanied by a muted ride cymbal. These moments offer real head-down hands-in-the-air moments during the track’s 7+ minute jaunt.

Glasgow comes back in person to finish up the project with ‘Just Let Go.’ A deep, droning bass line forms the core of a spiral staircase that rises from the darkness, slowly oscillating upwards. Similarly deconstructed percussive elements flow in and out of this central idea, some connecting for brief moments, others offering quick splashes of noise before retreating back to the ground floor. Glasgow’s distorted voice urges us to “just let go,” a sentiment we both yearn for and resist. What are we waiting for? What’s holding us back? When would be a better time to let go? What if there isn’t anything to catch us? 

Glasgow knows. 🍍