Red Waves

Shortly before recording his own music, Colin Bailey (a.k.a. Drums of Death) did remixes for Franz Ferdinand, Tricky, and Peaches, for whose album I Feel Cream he also produced and cowrote the title track. Bailey has described his own music as a mix of old-school house, techno, electro, and punk rock. His 2011 EP Red Waves opens with “Tear the Box Apart,” where stuttering beats and synth mantras percolate under delightfully dated keyboards that recall an underground warehouse party circa 1988 Chicago. Bailey even implements an old DJ trick with a gradually sped-up fluttering series of beats; they make those funny vibrating feelings in the sternum that dancers experience when bass is blasted through decently sized speakers. It’s hard to tell if “The Jerk” is making fun of techno or paying homage to it. Either way, it’s an infectiously good piece of dance music. “Bang the Drum” closes with skittering wooden percussion and distorted robot voices.