With the Mad Disrespect EP, Anthony Naples inaugurated both his own production career and the label arm of NYC's Mister Saturday Night parties. Astonishingly, the three gorgeously dusty house cuts were among the first the NYC producer had ever finished. A remix for Four Tet followed, Naples burrowing under the over-cosy exterior of "128 Harps" to unearth something dark but irresistibly funky. Put simply, Naples has emerged as one of the most promising young voices in house music.
The tracks here are a departure, sacrificing trippy denseness in favour of greater clarity and immediacy of impact. But the details—those velvety chords, the loose-limbed sense of groove, the casual weathered scuzziness of it all—are still Naples through and through. "Ill Still" is a banger of the warmest, friendliest kind, its great washy chords sliding around an enormous kick drum. "Faceless" is more rambunctious at the opening, but the beat soon gives way to a dreamy, lo-fi piano and strings loop, filtered into the foreground in a way that would make Pepe Bradock proud. Finally, "I Don't See Them" is more withdrawn, draping gaseous chords over a stiffer rhythmic framework. The inclusion of odd codas to the latter two tracks—tantalising beat sketches that explore crumbly Rhodes loops and filthy cassette techno respectively—suggests a mind still brimming with ideas. This EP isn't a staggering leap forward for Naples, but we can be certain that he's far from done yet.
Tracklist: Anthony Naples - Ill Still
A Ill Still
B1 Faceless
B2 I Don't See Them
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