29th March 2019: TWONK AND FRIENDS GET TOGETHER FOR AN EP OF ORGANIC SLOW-MO DISCO AND PULSING ACID BOOGIE
Spring isn’t just in the air, it’s in every step of the four tracks on this relay race of an EP. eclectics have come up with the goods once again by approaching Twonk (Jpye, Leonadis and IamrobD), who drafted in Stupid Human in order to produce a textured and layered release that is as varied and ambitious as it is coherent and focused.
The musical reference points are big, bold and broad: from insistent and twitching acid rumbles, heavy boogie inflections and the flat, sheer surface of ambient synths, to vocoders, pitched-down disco and polished guitar shining with 80s pop sheen and Balearic sparkle.
Jpye and Leonidas are first up with the mid-paced “L’Orient”, in which crystalline synths builds to a wobbling peak with admirable restraint while phased acid pulses shift around the summit. Percussive guitar allows the pads to really take off without fear of losing the plot. It’s deep as you like while reaching as high as it can.
Jpye joins forces with Stupid Human for “Ooh La La”. The introduction appears like an answer to the age-old question, “What would Boards of Canada sound like with Vakula on bass and Aphex Twin on keys?” It proves to be a drop of the shoulder however – a beautiful feint, before the track sidesteps in the direction of slow-dance, blissed out boogie with heavy-lidded eyes and slinking shoulders. Funk-flecked guitar stabs and synth squeals are given beautiful backdrops, all childish voices and underwater colours.
Meanwhile, Stupid Human offers up “Bugjam” to the group for a remix, and the results are astonishing. Part acid house jam, part dubbed-out leftfield disco, the almost subterranean vocal refrain urges feet to the floor as it ushers in a newfound urgency in a tune that is precision-engineered to get things moving. It’s about three years too short, but we might be splitting hairs.
Last up is Twonk with “Woo Wah Wah”, a slow thumper of a track with a bottom end so heavy it’s a wonder it can stand. Hazy top notes find room to breathe as gentle keys and rhythmic guitar stabs sit on top of pulsing bass notes and the slow dance starts again in earnest. Heads nod, feet move, hearts bloom – it’s that kind of a party…
Eclectics release Twonk and Friends by Twonk and Stupid Human on March 29th
For more info on eclectics visit: https://eclectics.bandcamp.com/music
For more info on Twonk visit: https://twonk.bandcamp.com
