Cosmo & Dibs – Xultation E.P

My copy has the labels attached to the wrong sides. Anyone else found this or is mine rare?

this is dope shit especially in a fantasy but why did the cover art have to be so fucking ugly

My copy has 'Star Eyes (Remix)' and 'In A Fantasy' on one side with 'Xultation' and 'You Got Me' on the other.

you got me, insane track, high energy but not reachin that cheezy NRG vibe,,, cop it bruhs,,, played it out, Instant classic!

It's a real shame that this release was forgotten over time, because if you ask me it's one of the best that Moving Shadow brought out in its early days. Not straying away too much from what people wanted, but still throwing in loads of unique ideas along the way, all the tracks on here were and still are massive.

Things kick off with Xultation, initially starting off incredibly slow, then evolving into a cocophony of scrapes and beats. Finally, the intro drops out and the track turns into a classic piano anthem. Things really kick off halfway through, though, when a carnival style synth comes in and gradually builds up into a sweet, memorable burst of hardcore. The track then finally finishes on a long piano solo (which was sadly cut out of the version that later appeared on "A History Of Hardcore", grrr). Next up on the A side is In A Fantasy, a somewhat darker track that again builds up in a similar way, using rough whipping stabs to create a rythmn and then exploding into a lively, ambient synth, only to trick us all and drop everything in favour of heavy beats accompanied by the "I wanna be there" vocals. The highlight of this track comes in later on, though, when the ambient synth from earlier returns over a soft, dreamy bassline alongside the violent beats that squeezed their way through the last 2 minutes.

On the flip are even more surprises, beginning with a remix of Star Eyes from Shadow 8. Starting off merely as a sped up version of the bleepy original, things twist around quickly when this drops out in favour of mashed up "Look at their eyes! It's ecstasy!" vocals from the original and a classic, hard synth accompanied by tons of little dischordant beeps and bops, as well as a sneaky bassline. The last track, however, takes a turn from everything else. You Got Me ends the EP as a much slower track, with an upbeat Latin vibe to it. Featuring baby piano keys, tribal jibberish, a deep bassline that wonders off in all kinds of directions and female vocals singing "You got me! Uh huh!" over and over, it's pretty much like nothing else on Moving Shadow. The best part, though, is a jazzy section secretly tucked away about three quarters in.

So on the whole.... yeah. If you find this anywhere, grab it. It's essential to anyone who's a true fan of hardcore, or even jungle.