Rochelle Jordan - How U Want It

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  • Machinedrum's style develops in phases, and the latest could be called his "pop" phase. On last year's Human Energy, and his productions for Dawn Richard's art-dance reboot Redemption, he found a dazzling compromise with the sounds of the post-EDM charts. The debut single on the producer's new IAMSIAM label is as good as any track in this style. It has the blissed-out mood, the interlocking patterns of chord, kick and snare, the clever builds and wrongfooting drops—all rendered with an IDM veteran's ear for precision. Toronto's Rochelle Jordan, however, isn't quite Dawn Richard. She was an elusive presence on her Human Energy turn, "Tell U," and on "How U Want It" she once again struggles to navigate these tricky terrains. She opens with a conventional verse, setting the scene with a bag left "accidentally" at someone's place. Who knows what happens next: her voice, mixed low, is soon drowned out by the sound and fury of the approaching first drop, and when she returns, it's only to run through a clipped chorus hook. At some point Machinedrum seems to forget about his collaborator altogether, rushing to cram a few more adrenalin-pumping climaxes into three-and-a-half minutes. The results are neat—especially when the chord stabs start to pinball in the song's dying seconds—but also a bit confused. Stewart has said that IAMSIAM feels "more like a family than a label." Hopefully on future releases he'll meet his siblings closer to halfway.
  • Tracklist
      01. How U Want It
RA