Release of the Week: VIO_L3T “Sentinel”
Young British producer VIO_L3T has dropped the second track from his upcoming EP and it’s already attracting attention and causing mayhem at parties across the UK.
When it comes to curating releases, record labels adopt many different approaches. Some like diversity - releasing music from different genres and styles - while others focus on a particular sound or genre. UK based Coyote Records definitely falls into the later category. There is a distinct sound to all Coyote releases that creates a cohesion across the label. Since 2012 the label has cultivated a sonic identity strongly influenced by the melodic side of instrumental grime with nods to hip hop and trap.
The sweeping choral symphonies and synths that open “Sentinel” create a certain feeling, leaving little doubt that this is a Coyote release. VIO_L3T offers his own twist on the label’s tropes with dark synths that recall the early days of dubstep, combined with a stuttering syncopated drum beat full of pitched snares.
It is not surprising to hear that VIO_L3T was frequently first through the doors at Coyote parties in Bristol in 2016 and 2017. His work owes much to label mates such as Letta, Silk Road Assassins and Last Japan, yet contains his own touches inspired by sci-fi and rap music. The EP, which VIO_L3T has been working on over the last 18 months is a product of a certain time in his life: “The amount of change in my life over the past two years compared to the previous 20 is huge”, he explains, “and each track is like a timestamp of that period.”
“Sentinel” is the work of a young producer with huge potential. If VIO_L3T can continue cultivating his unique take on the Coyote sound, then big things lie ahead. The full EP is out June 15.
