So here we are, Snare 001. We couldn’t think of a better way to launch this series of exclusive mixes than to kick off with an artist who epitomises what Snare is all about; Australian experimental producer and exciting raw talent Dro Carey.

Dro Carey, real name Eugene Hector, appeared on the scene in 2010 with his ‘Venus Knock’ EP on the UK label The Trilogy Tapes. No doubt an emphatic way to introduce yourself to the World, a top release on a very fine piece of wax! The EP’s first track ‘Get rid of this guy’ sounds like a sinister, deliberately acute soundtrack to a level on a computer game that is designed to rattle your senses and poke you into submission. The title track ‘Venus Knock’ cranks up the confusion as it grinds around your headspace like there’s a vaguely musical bee buzzing around your brain. This bold, enticing and strangely addictive style is what has enabled Hector in just two short years, to release on 3 different labels, most recently and most fittingly on the increasingly impressive Ramp Recordings.

His rise to notoriety in such a short space of time is surprising for such a young artist. At only 19 years old his sound has the maturity and production quality of an experienced veteran electronic music artist. How he has managed to reach this level of quality only he knows, but his talent in making unorthodox cocktails of distorted variations of hip-hop and jagged, raw and unstable house works is undeniable. To categorise his sound is not an easy task, and to label him currently as an experimental artist seems most fitting. But this label seems to be one of many he will come to adopt over the years as his consumption of mass information from the internet, old cassette tapes, vinyl and second hand videos will come to shape new views and interpretations of various musical styles.

Hector’s consumption of film, video, sound and music in such a short space of time would be enough to overpower, confuse and consume others who attempted to process it. But he seems to act as a filter for all its noise and works as an artist who makes sense and cohesion of sorts from the masses of unnecessary information that we are all confronted with daily.

This mix is an hour-long journey, which stops off with tracks from Dro himself, Silent Servent, Mike Dehnert, Tuff Sherm (Dro’s alter ego) and surprisingly, Usher. His Tuff Sherm tracks feature heavily in the mix and include selected offerings from his limited edition gold coloured cassette release ‘Canal Cloaking’, which is a limited run of 100 copies on Reckno. This release again shows his want to explore new ideas and help change the way in which we search, handle, respect, consume and enjoy music in a contemporary world.

Too few artists set out to mix tracks that on paper don’t seem to fit. But here, Hector has remained true to himself and his influences and sewn a mix of real quality. He opens up with the atmospheric heartbeats of Haleek Maul and doesn’t look back as he takes you through house, disco, electro, techno and audaciously finishing off with a pitched down R&B number from Usher.  

With a new album on the way, no one will be sure of what to expect from Dro Carey in the future other than the unexpected. His expansive and expressive style in manipulating a multitude of sounds and styles has given him an impressive start to a career, which already has maturity beyond its 19 years. Enjoy!