- On the Dead Man's Chest Facebook page, the influences listed are "91-94." Band interests? "Rum." It might be tongue-in-cheek, but it's accurate. Dead Man's Chest is a conceptual alias focused on classic jungle sounds with a punch-drunk twist. The project was born in the French Alps, where producer Alex Eveson took a sabbatical of sorts and fell in love with jungle and early drum & bass (thanks especially to an old DJ SS tape). Farseer is the third, final and strongest chapter in a trilogy of records on Ingredients.
The grooves here are warm, the samples crackle and the tempos are leisurely (compared to modern drum & bass, anyways). It's a welcoming record, looking back to when jungle was still smooth and flighty. The title track is ethereal, with breaks and choral vocals layered over a zig-zagging, Shackleton-esque bassline. "Unnatural Mystic" gets even headier, featuring dextrous drums that could have been chopped up in the Paradox kitchen. "Obehaman" touches on a harder ragga vibe, while "Warehouse" is a rush of jungle bluster that still feels silky.
This music excels because of its rich tapestry of textures. Eveson weaves in samples and drums like he's working on a dense, exotic embroidery. It's unabashedly retro, sure, but it's done with such an original—and thoroughly well-conceived—style that it works. Hopefully the end of this trilogy doesn't mean the end of Dead Man's Chest because this is Eveson's best music yet.
TracklistA1 Unnatural Mystic
A2 Obehaman
B1 Farseer
B2 Warehouse