Des McMahon Displays D&B Duality on ‘Black Widow / Falling Apart’ for IN / ROTATION

Over the last couple of years, Des McMahon has proved his hard-edged D&B beats are the kind of nasty that makes the junglists go wild. Following up his releases for both Discovery Project and Insomniac Records, he now shows off the duality of his production prowess on IN / ROTATION.

“Black Widow” is made for the peak-hour dancefloor, with its neck-snapping beats extra crispy and the bassline dark and deep. Then there are the glimpses of gritty texture that peek through at just the right moments. Des balances out that evil low-end with a pulsating vocal sample and some ominous, haunting chords in the breakdown, which bring the arachnid back to life.

On “Falling Apart,” he goes in the opposite direction to fully express his ability to craft a sexy groove, even at this high a BPM. The jazzy chords fill out the middle, ebbing and flowing to create a cool, almost housey vibe. All the while, a throbbing liquid bassline holds it down below, as the masterfully sequenced percs add the perfect amount of spicy flavor to the mix.

“‘Black Widow’ and ‘Falling Apart’ were the first two songs I finished after returning from EDC Las Vegas last year,” McMahon tells Insomniac. “They’re a bit of a departure from a weekend’s worth of insanity and excitement. There was something about stripping things back and doing more with less that really kept the momentum of these two tunes going. Very happy that I could put this out with the Insomniac and IN / ROTATION camp.”

Des McMahon’s Black Widow / Falling Apart is available here.