Little Snake – Lost in Spirals EP Review

Gino Serpentini or more commonly known by his appropriate moniker Little Snake detonates his new EP on the oft adulated Brainfeeder Label. Following on their continuous championing of young, exuberant talent. Brainfeeder further stakes their claim to sanctify all that is forward-thinking, wild and genre- bending with Little Snake’s, Lost in Spirals.

            The Calgary residing west Canadian, Serpentini occupies a weighty, texture heavy sonic space, showcasing his considerable production chops and seemingly endlessly imaginative and impactful sub-bass drop variations. Moreover, Little Snake tempers this quality with a myriad of high pitched, siren, water droplet and momentum-inducing wave, fizz and bubbling textures. These elements are heavily sonically treated, creating an inordinately, disorientating, three-dimensional soundscape.

            Nowhere is this more evident than Lost in Spiral’s opener USER1111333 which I can assure you is the aural equivalent of being waterboarded and enjoying it. This track is; as with most of the EP, an exercise in the build and drop template. Serpentini breathes new life into an already tired and over-exercised staple of electronic music via his rather sizable and vital production ability. Once described by label founder and electronic music’s high priest extraordinaire, Flying Lotus as “fkn insane”, Flylo went as far to snap up Serpentini to Brainfeeder and include Little Snake’s material into his DJ sets.

            The standalone single, MESSAGE is a 1 minute 23 second, encapsulation of all the salient musical tropes of the EP. The jungle-inspired, tinny snares that open the track builds and then gives way under the weight of hulking sub bass and sirenesque pitches. Akin to a hostage rescue mission without any of the unwanted trauma (I.E. the Rambo variety not the self-scarring, real-life versions), Little Snake gets in and out leaving a taste of adrenaline and the urge for more. 

                Not to leave the listener underwhelmed, the final two tracks SEEN and JEEEEEVEESS embody what is so impressive about Lost in Spirals. Interflowing beat changes, ethereal, futuristic, existential textures, simultaneously underpinned by colossal and impenetrable bass; creating an impactful, progressive end to an expansive EP.  

            As a long-time sufferer of bass addiction, I feel that Lost in Spirals is one of the hardest hits of my drug of choice in a long time. Throughout Little Snake prescribes an EP cut with an impressive array of build and drop variations that elevate rather than set limitations to his music; possibly creating his own lane to continue dealing his audience a batch of mind-altering sonic stimulants. Further peer pressured by the Czar of all things electronic music in the form of Flylo/Brainfeeder I am excited to hear what’s next from Little Snake and what he’s gearing up to release in the future. In the meantime, I look forward to listening to Lost in Spirals at a garish, inner ear damaging high volume, awaiting pensively in the hope of a larger, more tailored fix in the future. 

Originally published on Hyponik