- Don't let the rural name put you off: the chief inspiration behind T. Wiltshire's Sandringham EP seems to be not Middle England but the subtle grooves of Germany's Workshop label. In this he's hardly alone, of course, and the London-based Wiltshire hasn't quite nailed the grace and poise that sets your Even Tuells and Lowtecs apart. But while parts of his debut EP feel a little stodgy, he's certainly heading in the right direction. "Memory Boy," with its dogeared Detroit sheen, is the finest of the lot. As with some of Kassem Mosse's best, it's happy to bump innocuously along, winning you round through gentle perseverance. The wonderfully soporific "Jons Arrival" is equally simple and almost as charming. The chief protagonist is a single vocal sample, looped and stretched into pungent trails of sound.
On the B-side, Wiltshire swaps computer precision for live-analogue looseness. The only noticeable difference is that the delicate equilibriums required to make such simple elements sing effectively are a little off. On "Pam Quigly," the hi-end percussion pokes out uncomfortably, and the lush excesses promised in its materials are never quite delivered. "Run From Fires," meanwhile, is a shot at something darker. Its rippling cosmic arps are effective in the first half, but as the reverb is piled on the whole thing starts to feel dangerously overbalanced.
TracklistA1 Memory Boy
A2 Jon's Arrival
B1 Pam Quigly (Vinyl Edit)
B2 Run from Fires