Home
» album
» andy jaar
» black hole recordings
» j soul
» releaases
» release
» J-SOUL PRES. ANDY JAAR - GLACE
By ThinkInElectronic / Monday, December 09, 2013 / No comments /
J-SOUL PRES. ANDY JAAR - GLACE
‘A mystery wrapped in an enigma, bound in a monkey-puzzle’, was how
one journalist recently described him. ‘An audio androgyny’, ‘a prodigy’, ‘a
musician unregulated by stylistic borders’ - even ‘a genre-philanderer’. However
he’s dubbed, one thing’s a given, he defies any pigeonhole. Welcome to the
consciously, delightfully leftocentric, kaleidoscopic world of J-Soul.
(Forthcoming through Black Hole Recordings, Dec 2nd 2013
order here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/glace/id739081051)
Explore more of J-Soul and Andy Jaar through the links below:
As a musician, J-Soul’s intriguing sound waves have been
emanating out of his native Russia with ever-greater resonance throughout the
last half-decade. Over that time he’s cast an eclectic, electric musical spell through
a string of releases and remixes on forward thinking labels like Re-Zone, Twisted Frequency, Curvve Records, Anjunadeep and a half dozen
more besides. It is through Holland’s Black Hole Recordings though that he’s
elected to make the jump to sophomore artist album. In a
reversal of convention, highly characteristic of the artist, on ‘Glace’ J-Soul’s
pulled off the mask to present Andy Jaar - the man behind these routinely breath-stealing
stylistic leaps. The core to his music still echoes through his pen name though.
This is music made of many elements, served many different ways, but always sourced
from the Soul.
(Forthcoming through Black Hole Recordings, Dec 2nd 2013
order here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/glace/id739081051)
‘Glace’ the album starts fittingly enough with ‘Glace’ the track. A chasm-deep
progressive journey, it’s alive with funkified bass, melancholically evocative
analogue synthery, all wrapped in nouveau disco chic.
Going vocal, ‘Glace’ fields ‘Not My Guy’, which features the bluesy tones
of songstress Creole. Her cooler vibe is subversively modified by Andy’s
pitch-wheel machinations and dubsteppin’ distortions. With Matvey Emerson on
its exceptional, upliftingly accessible song, ‘Only Music Is Real’ provides a
fast ride into classily sculpted, yet beautifully discordant synth-scapes.
‘Placed In The Dark’ slides the album coolly onto echoing, crisply
percussive techno territory. These melodies might appear minimal, but their
cumulative effect exacts a big impact club-side. Further in ‘Cube’ uses the
similarly tightly toned loops, but atypically through its super-heated pads,
chords and glacial FX, it installs a magical dreamlike, almost filmic quality
to its drop.
At that point the album shifts off the tech-tonic plate and flows into
pastures new. Through its dazzling drum arrangements, visceral distortion and plenty
of floor-ward facing EDM grind, recent single ‘Akulla’ rises from its early
depths and at its apex explodes into euphoric trance life.
Pumping the album’s brakes momentarily, tracks like ‘Running Man’ and ‘Guitar
Fish’ take Andy’s second album periodically into beatific, harmonic chillout
territory. ‘Hey’ meanwhile updates the jacking old-skool house sound, mounting
it on a rolling house groove, whilst simultaneously advancing the track with infectiously
catchy vocal hooks. With an astonishing vocal & lyrical performance from
Leusin at its core, ‘Morning Light’ escalates rapidly into a ripping
electro-fired ride. Its sweeps plough in combusting FX and electric guitar thrash
to seal its potent thrill.
An audio collage, a musical mosaic, even, unifying all these seemingly
disparate elements into a cohesive, contemporary, start-to-finish long-playing
listen is no easy task. As the fantastically spirited aura of the Moroder-esque
‘Esoterique’ triumphantly signs the album off though, you’ll be in no doubt that
its not only possible, but on ‘Glace’ a reality. If you’re ready for something
entirely different to draw the year to a close, ‘Glace’ could very well be it. Andy
Jaar’s second coming is released on December 2nd.
Tracklist:
01: Glace
02: Not My Guy (with Ruslan Sever Featuring Creole
03: Only Music Is Real (Featuring Matvey Emerson)
04: Placed In The Dark
05: Akulla
06: Running Man
07: Hey
08: Morning Light
09: Cube
10: Guitar Fish
11: Esoterique
Explore more of J-Soul and Andy Jaar through the links below:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Let us know what you think