Roundup, December #2
From Sherelle’s BPM boosted jungle to Alice Glass’s cybergoth lo-fi synthpop, we roundup our favourite releases of the week. In no particular order:
OXIA – FATE
When we spoke with iconic French producer Oxia earlier this year, he warned us of an incoming EP. Fate would be the EP in question, released on Diversions Music and featuring the original mix by Oxia along with two remixes. Fate is immediately distinctive from Oxia’s release on All I Day I Dream, Shadows. While that track found itself in spaces in between to establish it’s dreamy and ethereal atmosphere, Fate is a tech-house leaning track driven by a relentless four on the four techno pulse mixed with looped synth riffs and vocal progressions. Programmed for peak time, it throws Oxia back into a space he was largely responsible for pioneering; moody, atmospheric tech that builds on itself toward increasingly kinetic and progressive moments of release. Steam and download it here.
SHERELLE – JUNGLE TEKNAH
When London producer-DJ Sherelle was announced as the next contributing artist to fabric’s ongoing mix series, we waited with bated breath for whatever original work would arrive from her on the compilation. Her debut EP, 160 Down The A46 established Sherelle as an artist informed by the history of jungle, garage and breaks but interpreting these historic UK styles on her own terms. Jungle Teknah follows this approach, surging forward with a breakneck jungle pattern at Sherelle’s signature 160 BPM, but led by a house-adjacent piano riff which both intensifies and smoothes out the ride. It’s emblematic of Sherelle herself; taking the history of the genres she finds inspiration in and re-writing them in her own image. Download fabric presents SHERELLE here.
DJ POLO X NKC – YEYEYEYE
DJ Polo teams up with fellow Bristol producer on an EP directly informed by the motifs of gqom and amapiano on London label, Even The Strong. On the title track, a looped gqom beat is accented with amapiano log drum riffs and percussive modulations, while an ever blinking siren sound bleeps in the distance. Tied into this is the energy of grime and tribal house, a re-contextualisation of these African dance forms by way of the UK underground. This is followed by Hammerhead, which dials up the tempo of dusty amapiano and opens with a whining, celestial synth intro which also serves as the track’s breakdown. It’s necessary to note the sound’s dissemination of South African dance styles toward European taste, leading one to question where the sound of the townships is destined to go next. Download the Yeyeyeye EP here.
ALICE GLASS – FAIR GAME
For her second single from her upcoming debut solo album, Alice Glass turns to lo-fi synthpop that finds inspiration in the polyphonic chilliness of Eastern European pop in the vein of I3CEP3AK. Released on her own Eating Glass Records, Fair Game sees Glass coo a spoken word piece interrogating a lover on where they would be without her, while she screams the same lines in the background against rushing synths and a foreboding choral refrain. It follows the cybergoth aesthetic tone of previous single Baby Teeth, suggesting Glass will be looking toward faded synthpop and jagged cyberpop for her new solo work that both reclaims and redefines her work with Crystal Castles. Watch the music video below.
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