- Prayer is a London-based newcomer faced with the unenviable challenge of stepping out from the shadow of another, much better known producer. The mournful synth work of his debut, released on Cult Music last year, was so familiar that many assumed it was label head Zomby using a pseudonym. A remix of Darkstar as one half of Kollaps—this time featuring Zomby on additional production—didn't help clear up matters. Fortunately, Prayer's first self-released EP proves he's more than just another masked also-ran.
Fans of Burial's nocturnal cityscapes or the swoonsome sonics of Clams Casino will feel very at home here (the producer has cited both as influences). But Prayer's USP is the almost absurd epicness of his productions. "Not Over" would be post-dubstep by numbers were it not for its cathedral-sized ambitions; the finely wrought chord progression perhaps betrays his classical schooling. "Abyss," meanwhile, romps through a multi-sectioned structure that lends it a sweeping, symphonic feeling. Both hit emotional extremes that the likes of Zomby or (pre-"Hiders") Burial would probably consider gauche, but they do so with such conviction that you can't help but get swept along. "Knowing," with its broken garage shuffle and portentous chords, invites the strongest Zomby comparisons and as such is the least interesting. At the other extreme, "Hesitate"'s sorrowful pianos and horns seem closer to teary mid-'00s post-rock—early Sigur Rós, Jeniferever—than any kind of UK dance music. Prayer, you see, is his own man, and he'll reference what he likes.
Tracklist01. Not Over
02. Hesitate
03. Knowing
04. Abyss