As Kit Macdonald pointed out, DJ Wey's contribution to Lovers Rock's compilation EP, "Nosebleed," had a firm backbone that ran afoul of the delicate ambience around it. On Introduccion, Wey's debut EP, that dynamic remains. From the get-go, the music feels surprisingly brash coming from a label that recently released such a stately dub techno record as Earthen Sea's Ink.
Wey goes harder than his label-mates, which "Anthem Para La Club," made with J. Albert under the name Amigos DJs, really drives home. It's in mono, for god's sake. It's also fun and funky, though the reduced spatial field makes its punchy drums and spoken word samples feel claustrophobic. Pristine in comparison, "Tare Gent Us" isn't up to snuff, drowning its perfunctory beat with a droning note. Wey's Terry-Riley-in-the-club idea is admirable, but it doesn't quite work. Everything going on underneath sounds like imitation Kassem Mosse.
More in line with Lovers Rock's previous output, the zig-zagging groove of "Emily" is nice enough, especially once the melancholy clouds roll in. It isn't until the end of Introduccion that we get the real goods, early-hours house track "Llanganatis." The muted synths and drum pattern are so subtle they seem likely to fall apart if you removed one element. Like the label's best material, "Llanganatis" is all the more mysterious and exciting for its pared-down quietude; sometimes you can say a lot with a little.
Wey goes harder than his label-mates, which "Anthem Para La Club," made with J. Albert under the name Amigos DJs, really drives home. It's in mono, for god's sake. It's also fun and funky, though the reduced spatial field makes its punchy drums and spoken word samples feel claustrophobic. Pristine in comparison, "Tare Gent Us" isn't up to snuff, drowning its perfunctory beat with a droning note. Wey's Terry-Riley-in-the-club idea is admirable, but it doesn't quite work. Everything going on underneath sounds like imitation Kassem Mosse.
More in line with Lovers Rock's previous output, the zig-zagging groove of "Emily" is nice enough, especially once the melancholy clouds roll in. It isn't until the end of Introduccion that we get the real goods, early-hours house track "Llanganatis." The muted synths and drum pattern are so subtle they seem likely to fall apart if you removed one element. Like the label's best material, "Llanganatis" is all the more mysterious and exciting for its pared-down quietude; sometimes you can say a lot with a little.
-
Published /
Sun / 17 Jan 2016 -
Words /
Andrew Ryce -
-
-
Tracklist /
A1 Anthem Para La Club
A2 Emily
B1 Tare Gent Us
B2 Llanganatis
Comments loading