- In the world of experimental club music, few crews are as experimental as Oakland's Club Chai. Last year's self-titled compilation laid out the group's global-minded sound, encompassing everything from Armenian choral music to Rihanna edits and old-school acid house. The label has since began highlighting individual producers, and the focus turns to 8ULENTINA, one of Club Chai's cofounders. Their debut EP, EUCALYPTUS, is a bolt of energy to shock dance floors with.
Each track bubbles and squeaks in a different way. "Metal Clip" dips in a dembow pattern around Middle Eastern instruments whose melodies rise like wisps of smoke, while "Dissolve In Water" is graceful with its elegant grime-inspired melodies. "Rope Swing," which might be the best track, is only percussion, but it beams personality as breakbeats flash like sparks. "Soiled" uses breaks in a more chaotically, crafting a groove that feels like it's held together with sellotape. The only miss is the Organ Tapes collaboration, "Mint T," where a piano riff awkwardly floats above 8ULENTINA's bobbing drums. "Wander Flute" is a track for the braver DJs. It resists dance music's typical repetitive groove, stubbornly changing every few bars so that you can never quite get a hold of it. Mischievous and clever, the EP is a fine embodiment of Club Chai's politics of identity, fluidity and inclusion.
Tracklist01. Metal Clip
02. Soiled
03. Wander Flute
04. Dissolve In Water
05. Rope Swing
06. Mint T feat. Organ Tapes