Artist: San & Sebastian Moore
Title: Chunk'd / Phat As Phuck
Label: 3Beat Breaks
By: Colin C. | 7 January 2006
Tracklist:

• A: Chunk'd
• B: Phat As Phuck

San & Sebastian Moore "Chunk'd / Phat As Phuck"

3beat Breaks has always had an ear out for innovative break beat tracks, so to hear DJ San and Sebastian Moore's latest 2 tracker would be released on the Liverpool based imprint I was eager to hear what they had come up with. DJ San is no stranger to either djing or production with numerous productions and mixes to his name, including being one of the founding members of 'Solid Sessions' as well as his own work as 'San Project'. Here with his co-hort Sebastian Moore, he seems able to slide effortlessly away from his club trance stronghold and into the realm of breaks.

'Chunk'd' starts off with a typical melodic breaks vibe, dripping with atmosphere and rolling Space Manoeuvres-esque bass line that builds into more lush soundscapes before ending up in the breakdown. At this point it's obvious where their influences are coming from with its huge bright melody and synth progressions. Not to say that its bad, but this is about as predictable as it gets in this genre, and they aren't the first (and most likely won't be the last) to travel down this road.

The flip side is the redeemer, as 'Phat As Phuck' brings the release back out of the clouds and lands it squarely on the dance floor. Here the duo brings together a solid bouncy break complete with a pulsing bass line and quirky shots and vocal stabs. The track builds nicely into the break where the boys throw in some quick vinyl cuts before launching us back into the hypnotic throws of the tracks groove. Again nothing here that says or does anything we've haven't heard before, yet their talents and skills make it a track worth playing.

The biggest problem that I have with this release is that it's just not anything original or unique, everything on display here is borrowed from some other producer's arsenal. For example, the melodies in 'Chunk'd' could have been picked up off the floor of a Luke Chable and Ivan Gough session a few years back, 'Phat As Phuck' also feels like table scraps from a Meat Katie and Elite Force session with its structure and elements. Not to say that the duo can't produce a track well, they just opt to re-create what has been done before and it leaves me feeling slightly unfulfilled. I was expecting more from a 3Beat Breaks release, yet maybe I've just set my own expectations a little too high this time around.