Stupid Human - Gang of Wolves (Stupid Human)

The formidable Stupid Human series was rumoured to have been terminated a while ago (the producer behind the classy reworks ready to move on to pastures greener and richer - that old chestnut), but blood really is thicker than water, so here we are with volume 6 and it's a right pearl of a release.

Stupid Human set up shop in 2009, the same year we launched our first release, and the seminal Swamp Funk on the debut 12" (and edit of Bobby Rush's I Wanna Do The Do) hasn't left our bags since (I have a great story about playing in a half-empty club in the UK a while ago where a mean-looking meatmountain of a man had been staring me down for a while and literally came running over to the booth when I played Swamp Funk, but I'll save that for later). We've followed the label closely ever since, collecting and cherishing the handful of releases that surfaced over the past few years.

Stupid Human's latest effort is all about the A side, reserved for Gang of Wolves. Another reviewer called it a slice of perfect 'funky house', and while that term really does make my skin crawl it's spot on. Crisp drums set the pace at about 118BPM, propelled forward by a lush deep bassline (bottom end is immense) and a sweet, powerful female vocal. I'm not sure what the source material is, but it's an amazing track that I've been itching to get my hands for ever since I spotted the soundcloud snips. Ordered double couples, always a good sign innit? The track brings back memories of the lush early 90s Westcoast house lthat Blue Six used to make for Naked Music. I simply cannot get enough of this.



Two more tracks on offer on the B, where Stupid Human takes things down a notch. Not Tonight is a good old fashioned slice of loopy slomo (which as a term might trump funky house in the cringe department). It's expertly done and the source material is tasty, but I have shelves full of loopy pitched down disco tackle, in all honestly this doesn't really bring anything new. In Slow Moshun is - rather unsurprisingly - another slow burner on a bit of a boogie tip. Really like this, I'm a real sucker for those 80s sounding boogie drums and synths. Could have done without a few of the 1-bar loops but this is perfect warmup/bar gig material.

5/5 for the A alone, get one while supply lasts, only 300 done up and previous releases on the label exchange hands for silly money on Discogs, If you get it directly from Stupid Human's bandcamp page you'll support the artists/label directly and get a free download of the EP to boot.