Surusinghe – Party Criminal (ft. Warrior Queen)
When we covered FRIED (W17) back in April, I wondered out loud how the announced Warrior Queen collaboration would sit alongside that track’s stripped, functional pressure. Now “Cutting Thread” is out on dh2 and the answer is here: “Party Criminal” pairs Surusinghe’s high-definition dembow pressure with a commanding vocal from the legendary Jamaican MC, and the combination produces exactly the kind of thing worth paying attention to. The track started in a Pirate Studios session, and Warrior Queen’s delivery reshapes it entirely, turning the pirate figure into sharp commentary on sinister forces encroaching on club culture.
The EP around it is a four-tracker (+1 instrumental) and a clear step up in ambition. Surusinghe, born in Naarm/Melbourne and based in London, widens her tempo range across the record: “FRIED” opens on rubbery acid licks, gated pads and cello-led drops; “Rubbing” runs on razor-sharp techno drums and the heads-down momentum of her DJ sets; “Dips & Dexies” closes on a 4/4 house and techno frame filled with percussive flickers and disorienting sound objects. There are traces of her formative ballet years in the visual direction and the physical precision of the production. The EP’s stated argument is a response to the “party guilt” she’s noticed on nights out after a year of touring through the US, Asia and Australia: nightlife as nourishment, balance found through surrender rather than restraint alone.
She comes into this with momentum, after last year’s dh2 release and earlier records on AD 93 and Steel City Dance Discs, plus sets at Glastonbury, Dekmantel and Dour and her own Drifting parties in London and Melbourne. The pairing I was curious about turned out to be the EP’s centre of gravity. I like being right about the things I hoped for.
Tracklist:
- FRIED
- Party Criminal (ft. Warrior Queen)
- Rubbing
- Dips & Dexies
