Owen Westlake – Shake Down EP

Mid November will see the Saints & Sonnets imprint return with a fresh three-track EP coming courtesy of Owen Westlake, entitled ‘Shake Down’ and backed with a Christian Nielsen remix.

Budding British artist Owen Westlake first appeared on the Saints & Sonnets imprint back in July of 2013 with his collaborative cut ‘Those Days’ alongside SecondCity. Here we see Westlake return to the imprint, this time delivering a solo EP of his own.

Opening up the release is title cut ‘Shake Down’, setting the rough and ready tone for the EP with its organically flowing percussive elements and tension building atmospherics. While the vacillating bass hook, sporadic vocal licks and expansive reverb bursts instil a further charm into the opening composition. Following is ‘I’m What You Made Me’, seeing Westlake retain a similar aesthetic with the drum-led aspects. Owen lays the focus on natural drum sounds while hypnotic lead melodies and an infectious vocal lick uttering the track’s title meander around a penetrative sub-led bass hook, shaping things up as a dance floor focused heavy hitter.

The package is then rounded off with a remix of ‘I’m What You Made Me’ from Christian Nielsen, the Made To Play signee pulls back the vibe with a more stripped back approach, also opting for a more progressive feel to the structure as the reshape gradually unfolds over five and a half minutes with crunchy distorted rhythms, raw chord stabs and an acid tinged bass hook.

Owen Westlake’s ‘Shake Down’ EP is out on Saints & Sonnets 17th November 2014.