- Gunnar Haslam might be anonymous, but his music is far from featureless. On both his debut LP for L.I.E.S. and his floor-focused material on Argot, the New York producer displayed impressive sonic continuity, occasionally achieved by recycling instrumental elements but more often through a sense of foreboding. Let A Hundred Flowers Bloom is Haslam's first release on Mister Saturday Night, and the first 10-inch on the label—both the medium and the content suggest a producer moving towards the outer fringes of the dance floor.
"Let A Hundred Flowers Bloom" refers to a Maoist campaign intended to root out dissidents in 1950s China, and the track captures that fear and paranoia, with eerie vocal samples piercing a guttural drone. As far as transportive introductions go, they don't get much better than this. "Discouraged" features a rollicking drum pattern at odds with the dark atmosphere, but the musty melody and drippy percussion open up after multiple listens, to the point where it almost feels like a rhythmic update of Nathan Fake's "The Sky Was Pink." "Denominazione Version" closes things with a clatter, the track's repetition sounding like a train chugging towards an unknown destination. This EP is the darkest thing Mister Saturday Night has released, but it's no less thrilling for it.
TracklistA1 Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom
A2 Discouraged
B1 Denominazione Version