- In an interview with RA last year, Griffin James, AKA Francis Inferno Orchestra, noted that his recent relocation from Melbourne to London had brought with it new imperatives in terms of productivity. "It's more of a struggle compared to, say, Berlin," he said. "[In Berlin] you don't really have to work because you can live off about $10 for two weeks. London's one of those places that will chew you up and spit you out if you're not constantly doing stuff." A few months down the line, with shows around Europe and now this impressive new EP under his belt, it's fair to say that James is thriving in his new pressure-cooker environment.
The intriguingly named title track on this, his first release for Brooklyn's Let's Play House, finds him on relatively experimental form. An exercise in delayed gratification, "Hezbolla" spends a full five minutes building in militaristically percussive fashion before finally opening out into the sort of festive house cut we've come to expect from both producer and label. "Vibrations" is a sweeter and more straightforward beast. Clocking in at an unhurried 119 BPM, it takes a couple of saccharine, disco-inflected vocal samples and teams them with heart-swelling chimes and summery percussion to enchanting effect. "Hezbobongo," which closes out the package, is a bonus beats version of the title track that strips away everything but the track's percussion to form a useful floor tool.
TracklistA Hezbolla
B1 Vibrations
B2 Hezbobongo