Hands up who remembers the six degrees of separation approach to wasting your work day in the name of music research on myspace? Now, keep your hand raised if when doing this, you found something really fucking special. Put your hands down if you’ve since deleted your own myspace account, either because you got sick of the spam, or bored of the fact that every time you looked at it, it crashed Google Chrome…

Ok, we’re now on a level playing field.

Cupp Cave is a producer whose intrinsic link to his label buddy Dynooo alerted us to his talent. Before the conversations, mp3 attachments and 2nd hand conversations there were a selection of beats borne to his myspace page that really captured a lot of things… a groove, a homespun warmth and a heavy handed knock that overworked the neck muscles when you listened to them. Since then we’ve been intrigued to learn of his involvement in Surf Kill, the blossoming DIY label we’ve profiled before (which is run by him and the aforementioned Dynooo), and his releases as a part of Bretzel Zoo and those he’s put out under different monikers like Kingfisherg and Ssaliva, who we’ve described before as sounding like Bibio being “choked by his recording equipment.”

His latest EP, Dice Pool, will be released on a limited edition 10” on the 13th June through a new boutique label, Vlek Recordings. Set in superbly screen printed artwork (check the photostream of the EP’s intricate cover being screenprinted here) it’s an exploration of a quicker pace for Cupp Cave, a beatmaker who made something of a name for himself with his Garbage Pail Beats album, a body of work that explored that Beat Dimensions vein of forward thinking skewed instrumental hip hop. Here he follows up that LP and an earlier split release on the Vlek label, a 7” with Dem Hunger, with 4 tracks that really delve into his hedonistic dancefloor interpretation.

Tagged with the phrase ‘beautifully renovated throwback music’ the EP does explore the hands high 90s rave euphoria hinted at in a similar way to the recent work of Lone – all be it overlayed atop boogie basslines on ‘Thoughtograph’ and bastardized in a soaking of vinyl crackle on ‘Hypersport’ – but from following the guy, for just a year or so, it’s evident that this EP is simply one arm of his work; one listen at a particular style that he’s so perfectly nailed – the guy’s got another release, Throat Meat, imminent in June on Thin Consoloation that will surely deviate from this rough template even further.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/05/sr-mix-84-cupp-cave-surf-killvlek/

Joel Vandroogenbroeck – High Computer Tension
808 State – Techno Bell
Mr. Oizo – The End
Jam City – Let Me Bang (Refix)
The Advent – Untitled (Heinrich Mueller Remix)
Ceephax Acid Crew – City Collars
CJ Bolland – Camargue
Matthewdavid – Floor Music (feat. Niki Randa)
Cupp Cave – Airlining
Dem Hunger – Squint Fucker
Mr. Oizo – Half A Scissor
Ssaliva – Die Gem
Dynooo Boy Tell Em – Turn My Swagg On