Mark Pritchard’s name is certainly one that’s deeply enmeshed in the development of UK-based electronic music over the last decade, beginning with his mid/late nineties production collaborations alongside Tom Middleton under a head-spinning number of different aliases including Jedi Knights, Global Communication and Reload, through to his more recent ventures as Troubleman and Harmonic 33. This latest five track 12” EP release on Warp sees Pritchard subtly morphing his persona to Harmonic 313, with the fact that ‘313’ represents the area phone code for Detroit giving a good hint as to the sorts of sounds and influences being explored here.

Indeed, Pritchard himself describes it as exploring the relationship between old and new, pulling influences from classic Detroit techno and US hip hop, right through to dubstep and grime. In this case, the somewhat flatly titled EP1 offers something of an appetiser for Pritchard’s full-length album as Harmonic 313, apparently expected sometime later during 2008. There’s also a bit of a tricky conceptual factor packed into the sleeve, with the various tracks titled Problem 1-5, each with its own accompanying colour strip code, which can apparently be deciphered by referring to the front cover’s master strip.

Problem1 sees Pritchard kicking proceedings off with fat clattering digi-hop grooves that call to mind the late J.Dilla and Jimmy Edgar’s angular, off-centre snap, with the addition of warm, almost RnB-derived synth grooves adding a sense of human approachability as retro ‘Speak N’ Spell’ robot vocals repeatedly intone the Harmonic 313 moniker, in a manner that recalls a malfunctioning eighties kids’ toy going into meltdown, but in the most understatedly groovy way possible. Problem 2 picks up this trajectory and runs with its, layering reverb-heavy snapping hip-hop beats amidst a spiraling backdrop of shimmering electronic synths and fat, waddling sub-bass drops, before Problem 3 punishes the bottom end, as buzzing sub-bass pads add a sinister edge to droning background ambience and dry-sounding, scattered hip-hop breaks that certainly pay homage to Jay Dee – indeed, I found it to be easily my favourite track here.

Problem 4 meanwhile treads slightly closer to Luke Vibert’s off-centre electro-funk, with thick analogue synth bass grooves sliding their way between cheeky bursts of 303 acid squelch and clattering, jazz-accented beats. If you’re into the likes of J.Dilla, Jimmy Edgar and Flying Lotus, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

Check out www.warprecords.com