dOP - Penguin EP

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  • Consider dOP's mix for Watergate like a wild private party, a melee buoyed by a giddy air and a stream of unexpected guests. The Penguin EP, which culls a handful of selected cuts, is something like photos facebooked the morning after. Those gathered on this, Watergate's second vinyl release, are laced with the Paris trio's sense of the carnivalesque, their bon vivance born of champagne and cocaine, and their love of letting tracks go in unexpected directions. So it fits that the opener here itself is a bit unexpected. Their collab with Catz N' Dogz, "Deaf Wagrant," is a friendly slice of warm deep house and as such it's kind of a misdirection, baring the least amount of characteristic dOP live-band spirit. But hey, it's a collaboration, and you don't mix it up creatively with others unless you're willing to step outside your comfort zone. "Play Play Play" takes the opposite tack entirely, upping the live-band vibe by bringing in Wareika. The two groups, both known for their improv-instrumental prowess, lock into a subtle, rollicking groove, stretching into a loose, organic sound, replete with vibe and bell plinks, meandering background sounds and the occasional joyous blurt of klezmer melody. The rest of the EP is given over to bass-heavy tech-house that doesn't lose sight of the group's goofball sensibilities. Together with their cohorts Noze the crew fashions an equally saucy and spaced-out number called "Fils Du Calvaire" whose sun-and-sand vocals evoke Jorge Ben's "Mas Que Nada" sung by ghosts on ketamine. The horn section lets loose in equally spectral form, a Mediterranean wedding march of sorts, yet another example of dOP's transatlantic savvy. If "Fils" shows dOP as cultural polyglots, "Carte Blanche" catches them going full Gallic, offering a Serge-cool spoken snarl, seductive but a bit pissed off at the same time, exuding that stereotypical disdain, worn on the lip and the eyebrow. The tune's a tight little roller, playing at a clipped jump rope speed, flashing one of those trancey whiplash synths, the kind that seems to coil and uncoil with green electricity.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Catz N' Dogz & dOP - Deaf Wagrant (Selianka Edit) A2 Wareika & dOP - Play Play Play B1 Daniele Papini & dOP - Carte Blanche B2 dOP & Noze - Les Fils Du Calvaire
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