Splitloop have been regular contributors for Against The Grain for almost five years now and their second artists album, Pleasure Machine, is good. Damn good.

It’s been more than a decade since Bren Crowe and Phil Byrne met on a bus heading for a Prodigy gig and in that time they have become one of the worlds most popular breakbeat duos with a sound that encompasses so much more than just breakbeat.

A lot of DJs and producers say music is all about ‘taking the listener on the journey,’ and if what they say is true then Pleasure Machine would take you straight to a crowded dancefloor and leave you to your own devices.

All of the tracks on Pleasure Machine are more than capable of pleasing the machines they are played through and I know that if I were a bassbin I wouldn’t mind having some of these beats passing through me. 

With dirty basslines, and plenty of them, Pleasure Machine contains more breaks than a lot of ‘breakbeat’ albums and Splitloop have shown they can make so much more than awesome breakbeat in the past and their latest album is no exception.

With quirky vocals and some seriously catchy hooks ‘Party People’ will turn heads for all the right reasons as will their electro-breaks crossover ‘Electricity,’ which is driven by some tasty vocoder business, glitchy drums and plenty of LFOs for good measure. 

Not to be forgotten is the highly original ‘Frequency Rebel,’ with its instantly recognisable vocal sample and oh-so-heavy bassline, while the heavy rolling breakbeat number ‘Keep Running’ infuses the best parts of breaks and contemporary electro to create something sure to set most dancefloors on fire.

All in all Splitloop have created a worthy follow up album to their debut, Here On Business, and all the tracks, however different in theme, have the same polished, gritty and energised feel right throughout.

A must have for fans of breakbeat and electro.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

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Tracklisting

1. Crazy Sexy

2. Party People feat. MC Jax

3. Beat That Smack That feat. AnnMarie McBaron

4. Pleasure Machine

5. Frequency Rebel

6. Electricity

7. 100 Places feat. The Evil Harrisons

8. Go Down feat. Lewis Chikuni

9. Release Remove feat. Arveene

10. Rush

11. Keep Running

12. Ghetto Blaster

13. Speak And Splitloop

14. Tweaked Out