Braille – A Meaning EP

A Meaning

Riverbed

Breakup

With only a single release to his name so far (the excellent The Year 3000 from earlier this year), Praveen Sharma found a high place in my good books early on. You can’t really judge an artist from one single, but add to his credentials his place in the roster of the on-point Hotflush label, and the fact that he is one half of NYC bass duo Sepalcure (a White Noise favourite) along with Travis Stewart (Machinedrum), and it wasn’t hard to work out good things were to come from Sharma’s debut EP.

Lead single A Meaning lays Sharma’s intentions bare early on; within 10 seconds the first vocal sample states “House music” with an authority, and in a post-dubstep landscape where two-step is the hot sound (aside from Berlin’s ongoing love affair with the 4/4 beat), these immaculate house constructions are welcome and satisfyingly stable. However Sharma hasn’t abandoned the staples of what Sepalcure’s EPs just so good in the first place, these are house tracks that continue the high standard of perfectly tuned production and brilliantly nuanced details throughout, these tracks just happen to also be more danceable than Sepalcure’s tricky numbers.

Back to A Meaning, we hear a solid beat coupled with a glorious range of percussive detail, best heard on a good system (even better in a club, no doubt). The vocal line’s woozy pitchshift adds crunk flavourings but never derail this precise and simple track. Second track Riverbed offers a pacier and more subtle listen. Out of place tribal drums undermine expectations at the start but rapidly give way to a fantastically driven beat with a gorgeous rising synth-line that knocks the whole composition slightly off-kilter and ups the tempo, just before the track settles into a super-satisfying and beautifully detailed groove. After the first track which was admirable in its simplicity, it’s gratifying to hear a more complex composition that still packs a powerful dancefloor punch.

Things get even better with my personal favourite cut coming next, the emotive and forceful Breakup. The punchy beat contrasts fantastically with sped-up soul keys, and the achingly universal vocal line “why should we break up” gives way to a lush and powerful sound that isn’t quite topped elsewhere on the EP. Final cut Chain Gang is quicker but also contains more space, with rough tones and plinking keys gliding over a deep sub-bass pulse.

My expectations were high for this release but Sharma has proved himself a powerful force without Stewart’s co-production. Especially notable is how successful he is in combining the warm tones of the house beats with the woozy synths and choppy samples of today’s bass scene. It’s a stellar debut, every track has a steady supply of gorgeous details to admire for the bass and house-heads at home, while needless to say it’s an essential release for any DJs looking for something fresh.

8.5/10