- The Stockholm-based Staycore crew have established a brand of experimental club music that feels both in keeping with and divergent from the scene around them. Its producers use bright melodies and clear tones, as shown on their lovely Erelitha compilation from last year. The Berlin-based mobilegirl, AKA Bao-Tran Tran, is one of the crew's standout names. She's made a name for herself with tracks for assorted compilations and lighthearted DJ sets. Poise is her first official release, an EP of lilting strings, elegant arrangements and placid drums. It's the most coherent expression of Staycore's sound yet.
The best tracks feel like shiny showrooms for Tran's textures. Synths puff like fragrant bursts of air on "Yellow," while the drums that nudge "Lone Ripple" are so well sculpted that they feel more like decorations than rhythm. Tran programs her tracks daintily, with a methodical style that recalls early Nguzunguzu. Tracks like "Forest Coloss" and "Ceremonial Song" are beautiful and subdued, yet sharp as a tack. The only downside to Tran's style is that when she sticks to the basics, the tracks can blur together. The two tunes that stray from the script—"Scalene," with its eerie bird song, and "Forever," with rapid-fire trap percussion—shows the potential of her gracefully off-kilter perspective.
Tracklist01. Forest Coloss
02. Scalene
03. Forever
04. Yellow
05. Lone Ripple
06. Ceremonial Song