- Ray Kandinski is a prime example of a new generation of tech-savvy house producers. He uploads new tracks—often accompanied by a flashy gif—to SoundCloud and is tied-in with an international network of peers such as Yaeji and DJ Boring. For this crew, who combine '80s-inflected synths with lo-fi percussion, the adoption of lo-fi aesthetics doesn't feel confrontational. Rather, it's meant to evoke fuzzy nostalgia, the way the Palace clothing brand films its skateboard videos with old VHS cameras—the tracking lines that run through the screen used to be an annoyance. Now they hearken back to a simpler time.
All that might put off trend-weary record collectors, but the Berlin-based producer's new 12-inch for the New York label Arcane is a delight. The label, run by Edgar Rojas-Masferrer, puts its name on coffee, clothing and records, many of which fall somewhere between edits and airy house and boogie. Kandinski's "Faking Love" fits the bill perfectly, sampling a silky-smooth Claude VonStroke banger punctuated by a sax that hangs in the air like an unanswered text.
Kandinski shows off the two sides of his persona on the B-side with two versions of a track called "Do You Love Me Too." The first is a restrained house track that combines moody pads and wonky percussion the way Theo Parrish did 20 years ago. He dials it back for the other version, which is credited to his '80s funk alias Barry Helafonte. Crawling along at 90 BPM, it splits the difference between chopped and screwed and Balearic, a fitting end to an EP that feels rooted in dollar bin gems.
TracklistA1 Faking Love
A2 Do You Love Me Too
B1 Do You Love Me Too (Barry Helafonte's 'Love You Too' Mix)