Banshee is a name some will recognize from Zomby's latest album, Ultra. On "Fly 2," the London producer's in-your-face vocal samples blasted through Zomby's icy facade, a juxtaposition that gave the album its most memorable moment. Before that collaboration, Banshee churned out bits and bobs on SoundCloud, combining the rhythms of post-dubstep with the ideas of vaporwave, almost always emphasising vocals. High Let Me Fly, his first vinyl release, takes that idea to a new extreme, building tracks where the human voice lays the foundation rather than drums or basslines.
"High Let Me Fly," centered on a pitched-up R&B sample, sounds retro at first, hearkening back to the days of "Getting Me Down" and "Like We Used To," but it's actually the inverse of those tracks. Banshee uses the breath, tension and texture of the vocal to establish the mood; the foreboding synth he lays underneath it almost feels extraneous. The drum programming is sparse and deliberate, punctuating the vocal rather than holding it together. The track is an exercise in minimalism where every device is used to the fullest. It's only made of three or four elements, but it still sounds huge.
On "Cold World Part 2," the vocals are drowsy and the drums stutter, pushing the music along like a jittery funeral procession. It's darker and eerier than its counterpart, sounding like more of a mood piece than a banger. Zomby remixes "High Let Me Fly" in his classic Eski style, with gunshots, bleeps and warbly sheets of synth. He fills in the blanks of Banshee's spartan composition, but the way the original "High Let Me Fly" does so much with so little nearly beats Zomby at his own game.
"High Let Me Fly," centered on a pitched-up R&B sample, sounds retro at first, hearkening back to the days of "Getting Me Down" and "Like We Used To," but it's actually the inverse of those tracks. Banshee uses the breath, tension and texture of the vocal to establish the mood; the foreboding synth he lays underneath it almost feels extraneous. The drum programming is sparse and deliberate, punctuating the vocal rather than holding it together. The track is an exercise in minimalism where every device is used to the fullest. It's only made of three or four elements, but it still sounds huge.
On "Cold World Part 2," the vocals are drowsy and the drums stutter, pushing the music along like a jittery funeral procession. It's darker and eerier than its counterpart, sounding like more of a mood piece than a banger. Zomby remixes "High Let Me Fly" in his classic Eski style, with gunshots, bleeps and warbly sheets of synth. He fills in the blanks of Banshee's spartan composition, but the way the original "High Let Me Fly" does so much with so little nearly beats Zomby at his own game.
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Published /
Sat / 26 Nov 2016 -
Words /
Andrew Ryce -
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Tracklist /
A1 High Let Me Fly
B1 Cold World Part 2
B2 High Let Me Fly (Zomby Remix)
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