- Some of Vancouver house's biggest exports—think Jack J's "Looking Forward To You"—get their charm from their DIY quality. Others convey the same serene mood by opposite means. Khotin's music is in the second camp, favouring pristine sonics and crystal-clear arrangements. It's only getting glossier with time, too, and the best bits of this record for Public Release demonstrate what a good thing that is. The title track hits a mellow house Goldilocks Zone, with a shuffling pulse, gentle cross-rhythmic percussion and a single drifting chord that hints at yearning and cuddly comfort. It's finished off with a sample of someone answering the phone, a "hello?" that echoes wistfully into the digital ether. The track is the record's standout, and a remix from Force Of Nature, which retools and thickens without casting new light on the material, feels redundant.
Khotin doesn't hit another bullseye on the B-side, but he comes close. "Friend" takes a psychedelic turn thanks to watery atmoshere, bolder chords and hints of sci-fi strangeness in the bassline. Only this time the vocal—"Will you be my friend?"—mars instead of beautifying, its pitch-shift slurs first catching the ear but soon weighing down the mix. On "Strange Plant," Khotin loses his cool, letting loose jubilant barrages of claps and rimshots that disturb the music's calm surfaces. After a bold start the track meanders in the second half. Clarity and focus are what makes Khotin's best music so appealing.
TracklistA1 Aloe Drink
A2 Aloe Drink (Force Of Nature Remix)
B1 Friend
B2 Strange Plant