oOoOO - Without Your Love

Label: Nihjgt Feelings

Having braved the storm of witch house with his integrity intact, Christopher Greenspan faced a difficult proposition producing his debut album. To date, Greenspan’s productions as oOoOO have showed a producer with a knack for drenching the tropes of pop and RnB in syrupy layers of synthy mist, smothering vocals in autotune and offsetting ghostly ambience with Southern hip hop-referencing percussion. While it may sound like a recipe for disaster, oOoOO’s two EPs to date – the self-titled oOoOO and last year’s Our Loving Is Hurting Us on Tri Angle – were incredibly impressive, showcasing an artist with a unique voice whose skill as a producer helped him step clear from the hype machine’s messy fallout with ease.

But now, for his debut album, could Greenspan take that sound further and expand his horizons? Not quite. Without Your Love is a tasteful record drenched in authentic atmosphere, but ultimately Greenspan’s insistence on sticking to the tried and tested oOoOO formula prevents him from surpassing any of the material on his formative EPs. It’s a good album, sometimes great, but one can’t help but find the whole affair somewhat superfluous.

Album Clips

Musically, Greenspan profits from the space of a full-length LP, and there’s little redundant material to speak of. The opening salvo of Sirens//Stay Here is particularly impressive, a nine-minute slice of ghostly ambience that veers from seething gothic grandeur to blissed out ketamine-pop by way of Laura Branigan’s Self Control. It’s the poppier moments of this song’s latter half, reprised on 3;51 AM and Without Your Love, which prove the album’s most immediately gratifying – oOoOO’s gift for combining molasses-thick melodies, hollow snare hits and sugar-sweet vocals remains unrivalled. These sounds offer an inverted view of pop tropes and structure, both pitch-black and unassailably catchy, which culminates in LP highlight Mouchette, as sawtoothed basslines and twilight atmospherics defamiliarise the female vocal, turning it into a final gasp out into the darkness.

Mouchette

For every track that threatens our construction of the pop mainstream there’s an offering that takes things a little differently, and the quality of these numbers is a little more patchy. The superb Misunderstood summons echoes of Burial in its rainstreaked ambience, as subtle vocal and melodic intrusions build to a searing vocal finale which is over far too soon. Yet some of these experiments aren’t quite as successful. The South is an overblown contortion of deep bass hits, epileptic snares and chopped diva vocals, and it feels cheap and hollow compared to the brooding ambiguity of earlier tracks such as Sedsumting; particularly in regards to the bitcrushed melody that rears its ugly head around the two-minute mark. Similarly the backmasked vocals and tape hiss of Crossed Wires seem misguided, standing out awkwardly in the album’s centre.

Without Your Love contains some great material, and for fans of oOoOO’s particular sound, it’s a worthwhile listen. But after repeated spins, it’s hard to feel that there’s anything here that wasn’t done as well or better on his earlier EPs. No single track here is as spellbinding as Break Yr Heartt or Burnout Eyess, leaving one to wonder if perhaps Greenspan is an accomplished producer who simply doesn’t know quite where to go next.

6.5/10

20 Best EPs of 2012

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

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The majority of artists tally up a great deal more EP releases than albums, yet the extended players are often notably absent from music publications’ year-end lists. Here are White Noise we like to give credit to the artists who stretch the EP format beyond a killer club tracks and a handful of remixes, those who search out a coherent musical experience that’s more than a handful of disjointed tunes. These are the EPs that we’re still listening to a year on, and felt deserving of  an extra recommendation.

A wide range of styles made it to our list, and you can click on the titles to read our original reviews. Huge respect to all the artists here who went one step further this year, and here’s to a 2013 that’s just as exciting.

20 - Machinedrum – SXLND [Lucky Me]

 

SXLND

Travis Stewart’s first release of the year was a real palette-cleanser after last year’s heady (but excellent) album Room(s). Here the footwork fanatic lowered the tempo and brought out brighter textures, offering a stylish and bouncy collection that entered the mainstream through a couple of tracks that ended up as Azealia Banks backing tracks.

19 - George Fitzgerald – Child [Aus]

 

Child

Fitzgerald ruled the dancefloors this year, and nowhere were his House chops more apparent than on the excellent Child EP for Will Saul’s Aus imprint. His distinctive style fuses deadly basslines and thumping beats in a polished package, and the release spawned two tracks, Child and Lights Out , which were impossible to miss in clubs everywhere over the summer. 

18 - Pangaea – Release [Hessle]

Majestic 12

Pangaea put out Hessle’s longest release to date this year with the formidable Release double-EP. Mining elements of Dubstep and Jungle, the Hessle owner never sounded like anyone but himself across the course of these tracks which veered from ambient to breakneck 2step in the blink of an eye. Propulsive, frightening and cerebral, here Pangaea made good on the promise of his excellent early singles.

17 - Midland – Placement [Aus]

What We Know

Midland has always occupied a space slightly outside contemporary trends. With each release he offers detailed and meditative House cuts that amaze through headphones as much as the do on the dancefloor. From the slick vocals and pounding beats of What We Know to the restrained atmospherics of opener Tape Burn, every track on this release was a small marvel.

16 - oOoOO  - Our Loving Is Hurting Us [Tri Angle]

 

Break Yr Heartt

Shadowy American oOoOO continued to mine his utterly unique style this year with a much-anticipated follow-up to his self titled debut. A postmodern collision of Pop, RnB and the grimiest Hip Hop resulted in another excellent collection where razor-sharp beats complimented unsettling atmospherics and the inimitable vocals of collaborator Butterclock.

15 - Moodymann – Why Do U Feel [KDJ]

 

Why Do U Feel

Kenny Dixon Jr hardly became a House legend by accident, but it’s still a pleasant surprise to see him put out something so different after all these years. While the title track here is something very special, one of the year’s most nakedly beautiful dance tracks, the definitive cut of the unstoppably groovy I Got Werk and a surprisingly good Lana Del Ray remix filled out a pretty perfect package from one of the Dance scene’s most impressive stalwarts.

14 - Δkkord – Δkkord001 [Δkkord]

EP Clips

Another shadowy group of producers putting out dark sounds on their own label. Boring right? Not with Δkkord. Their debut release fused intensely atmospheric soundscapes with hard-as-nails beats that ranged from a slamming 4/4 to IDM-style twitches. Every track on this release is phenomenally powerful and impeccably produced, providing a whole range of DJs with the moodiest secret weapons for the clubs.

13 - A Thousand Years – Farmers in Fields of Stars [King Deluxe]

 

Flying High

Newcomer Zeké Africa blew us away with his debut EP, an impressively diverse array of sophisticated House cuts. This release really had it all; Flying High and its partner Have To Tell You were expertly detailed dancefloor numbers, while other tracks focussed on mood (superb opener No Light) and even went as far as Trap in the deeply unsettling Bake Take.

12 - Jets – Jets [Leisure System]

 

Lock Lock Key Key (Clip)

For us at White Noise, Jimmy Edgar and Travis Stewart (Machinedrum) are a match made in heaven. Their two distinctive styles were impressively fused on this debut collaborative EP, where lightning-fast beatscience duelled against warm synth textures, resulting in an relentlessly innovative EP that continued to amaze us months after the release date.

11 - Jacques Greene – Ready [3024]

 

Prism

It was clear that Jacques Greene was going to have to change up his style a bit to keep afloat. After a blisteringly successful 2011, spawning one of the year’s very best tracks, his signature airy style couldn’t compete with the darker sounds coming onto the dancefloors this year. But he did change, and for his debut on Martyn’s impeccable 3024 imprint he came out with one of his best releases to date. Here Greene delved deeper and darker, with Ready’s shuttering beat patterns providing a foil to Prism’s searing synth-work. This EP exuded class, right down to the noteworthy digital exclusive Dakou, where a bridge was drawn between this new, darker style and Greene’s early signature of skipping 2step rhythms.

10 - Beneath – Illusions [Keysound]

 

EP Clips

Beneath is one of the producers who emerged this year with a unique voice right out of the box. His moody soundscapes are home to skeletal UK Funky beat patterns and spare atmospherics that sound right at home on London’s darkest dancefloors. With his first EP for Keysound the fresh producer stepped up his game, with a more complete package that expanded his palette without ever losing the potency of those lethal drum patterns, including a deadly remix of  Ballistiq Beat’s Concrete Jungle.

9 - Fantastic Mr. Fox – San’en [Black Acre]

 

Pascal’s Chorus feat. Alby Daniels

After a long period of silence, San’en wasn’t really the FMF follow up that we were expecting. San’en toyed with live vocals, RnB styles, delicate textures and detailed soundscapes. It all goes to show that sometimes a little surprise is a very good thing indeed. Overlooked by many, here at White Noise we felt San’en was Mr. Fox’s finest hour (along with the brilliant one-sider Power); an impeccably produced collection of diverse tunes that looked out to the future of Bass music. And let’s not forget the gorgeous neo-pop closer Yesterday’s Fall, which was easily one of White Noise’s most played tracks this year.

8 - Duct – Circles [Shades of Grey]

EP Clips

Another slightly overlooked record this year came courtesy of Shades of Grey label-head Duct. Although the Bass music / Post-Dubstep genre may be a little dubious in its vagueness, not since Mount Kimbie’s debut LP or Sepalcure’s early EPs have such lush and delicate sounds found their way into the dance sphere. Each of these tunes is an immaculately detailed landscape of clipped samples and unusual rhythms, showing there’s still life in a genre many critics are doing their best to avoid.

7 - Dawn Day Night – Dawn Day Night [Astrophonica]

 

Alcoholic Dance Flow (Clip)

Dawn Day Night’s first foray into the exciting middle-ground separating DnB and Juke was utter madness from start to finish, and we loved it. Combining deft drum patterns and floor-killing sounds with ghetto sensibilities and a real sense of humour, it was easily one of the year’s most joyous releases.

6 - Cuthead – Brother [Uncanny Valley]

Vibratin’

Dresden’s Cuthead creates House cuts drenched in mood, with great samples sounding so smooth over those punchy beat patterns. It all just works for Cuthead, which is why we were so amazed when he chose to end the EP with two hilarious (and brilliant) slices of instrumental Hip Hop, capping off a great release with impressive diversity. It’s one of those releases where you’ll put on the first tune and sit transfixed, unable to turn it off until the end.

5 - Indigo – Symbol #7 [Auxiliary]

Symbol #7.1

We were a big fan of Indigo’s output this year, and nowhere was he more on form than on this untitled release for Auxiliary. Here was the perfect example of what makes Indigo’s style so unique; amazingly delicate melodies combined fluidly with superb drum programming and a host of atmospheric details. The second and fourth track showed how successful a producer he is outside of conventional beat patterns, pure mood pieces that oozed style and dread.

4 - 2562 – Air Jordan [When In Doubt]

Jerash Hekwerken

A Techno release made entirely out of field samples taken from a trip to Jordan? Could go very, very wrong. But not in the hands of 2562, one of the genre’s most consistently brilliant producers. Dave Huismans managed to keep it all under control, introducing his whiplash rhythms and rattling bass to these organic and exotic sonic textures. The concept reached its apex with the gloriously hypnotic closer Noctural Drummers, which brought a Technoid claustrophobia to textured tribal drum patterns.

3 - Shlohmo – Vacation [Friends of Friends]

Wen uuu

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to call us Shlohmo fanboys here at White Noise, but there’s a reason for that. No one out of the LA beat scene bridges the electronic and the acoustic quite so beautifully. With the follow-up to last years superb Bad Vibes album, Shlohmo let loose a trio of lushly atmospheric beat pieces with a few surprises along the way. Add that to an unusually excellent remix package (featuring a star turn from wonderkid Nicolas Jaar), and the Vacation EP easily made its way into our top three.

2 - Burial – Kindred [Hyperdub]

Ashtray Wasp

What is there left to say about Burial really? White Noise has certainly said more than enough for one year. Everyone knows, he’s just something very, very special. The Kindred EP was the moment where Burial did the impossible, matching (if not bettering) his classic Untrue album. These tracks saw the return of William Bevan’s grit, as well as a new experimentalism in his sonic structure that proved he’s still willing to push just about every boundary going. Almost a decade on, Burial is still peerless in his field. If you’ve never heard the Kindred EP, drop everything you’re doing and check it out right now. If you’ve heard it a hundred times, listen again. It’s still that good.

1 - Romare – Meditations on Afro-Centrism [Black Acre]

 

Down The Line (It Takes A Number)

Music can have profound meaning. Anyone who’s ended up reading this blog will already know that. But it’s not often that a real message can be found in an EP, let alone one that delves into the tropes of Dance music, a genre which more often than not aims purely to get bodies moving. Romare’s fascinating Meditations On Afrocentrism (ironically the only EP on this list we never got round to reviewing) is an electronic tour-de-force, fusing African rhythms and samples with modern dance structures and beat patterns. The tracks explore a range of BPMs, from the Footwork of the brilliant The Blues (It Began In Africa) to the venomous Hip Hop crunch of Down The Line (It Takes A Number). But this is more than simple culture-collage. The 13-minute cut-and-paste spoken word closer that comments on the artist’s own process is a (terribly post-modern) masterstroke, underlining the amount of research and work that went into these pieces. An EP which offers brilliant tunes while making a point is already worthy of our number one spot, but this message: on institutionalised racism in the music industry, on the deep roots of black music in our contemporary musical culture, is so vital that it positively demands to be heard.

oOoOO – Our Loving Is Hurting Us EP

Label: Triangle

It’s impossible to write a review of Christopher Greenspan’s newest EP without briefly discussing the meteoric rise and sudden dissipation of the so-called ‘Witch House’ genre in 2010. While a new group of hipster-ish producers chopping and screwing Hip Hop and RnB sounded promising at the beginning, the ‘genre’ was quickly found to be rather insubstantial and disappeared as suddenly as it came. Nevertheless, certain artists found a way to avoid being tied to the sinking ship, as oOoOO did on his first EP, which was twisted pop more than anything else, alongside the likes of Balam Acab who released a stellar aquatic debut album last year on Triangle. Still, it’s taken almost two years for Greenspan to releases just five new tracks, so one can’t help but question whether he’s weathered the storm. The answer has already divided reviewers, but I’m content to say that oOoOO is still doing what he does best, and if you discount muse-o discussions of flash-frying genres and overly critical associations with Witch House, he’s presented the world with another fine EP of Electronic music at its most sensual and ghostly.

Starr

oOoOO’s signature sound that made his name is still firmly in place here, as can be heard on opener TryTry, a glitchy assemblage of syrup-thick textures, sharp percussive clanking and ethereal chopped-up vocals. What has changed is the production quality here, the sounds; particularly the percussion, feel less cheap than they did on the debut EP (which was admittedly one if its charms), but still retain an appealing emptiness, the hollowness of the beats contrasting with rich ambient washes and drawn-out vocal variations. Although the tracks here still exist in a gothy haze, details still emerge and surprise, such as the proggy guitar-line emerging, incongruous and eerie, from the Starr’s spacious and soupy soundfield.

Elsewhere Greenspan expands his sound with the inclusion of a live vocalist, Butterclock, whose sultry vocals mix perfectly with Southern Hip Hop-styled percussion and glittering synth-lines on second cut Springs. The main attraction of Greenspan’s production has always been his great knack for creating atmosphere, and Butterclock’s vocals emphasise this continuing strength, with closer NoWayBack setting her sensuous and creepy vocals against big crunked-out bass stabs and metallic beats.

Break Yr Heartt

As good as the tracks on offer here are, it’s not irrelevant to consider that it has taken Greenspan almost two years to release just under 20 minutes of new material, and although his sound is still unique, it hasn’t dramatically progressed since his first outing. Another issue is that some of the tracks on offer here feel a little too short, like sketches that ultimately feel as if they’re building to be longer and more satisfying than a short 3-minute stretch.

But then we’re given a track like Break Yr Heartt, the penultimate track here and probably the best oOoOO has ever released. Here crystalline drum patterns duel with autotuned and screwed vocals to make some of the strangest RnB around, with the ghostly chipmunked refrain ‘I didn’t mean to break your heart’ echoing out over a cavernous, unstable space with searing strings to stunning effect. When an artist can make a song feel so powerful and unique in less than 3 minutes criticisms begin to fall away, and it’s all too easy to be seduced by the remarkable phantom atmosphere Greenspan ekes out of his machines. Yes, Our Loving Is Hurting Us leaves you wanting more but it’s enough for the time being and proves that here is a producer who will outlast the hype, let’s just hope we don’t have to wait so long for so little next time.

8/10

April Roundup

I haven’t been hugely on it this month with holidays getting in the way, but we've been spoiled for singles this April, alongside a few fantastic LPs (check out LHF and Actress’ new albums). But that’s not to say I haven't heard loads of great tunes this month, so here’s my pick of the litter.

Kicking off with more upbeat numbers as per usual, we start with Andrés’ instant classic New For U and a few choice Bass and House cuts from stalwarts XXXY and Huxley. Following is some fine Funky from The Town and a couple of choice remixes; Lone’s reworking of Midland’s Placement and Kevin McPhee’s chugging Techno reworking of Sepalcure. Moving off the dancefloor to darker territories is Amen Ra’s spiritual and stunning Akashic Visions. Actress provides atmosphere in spades before Beaumont’s 80s-worshipping synth odyssey Never Love Me. Next is Lungs, an intriguing project by London-based vocalist Py, produced by White Noise favourite George Fitzgerald. Some slow-burn 303 Techno is delivered courtesy of Recondite, then things get moody with Synkro’s drum workout and Vessel’s smacked-out death disco in Standard. oOoOO closes shop with twisted ghostly style with the final cut from his brand new Our Loving Is Killing Us EP. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

Andrés – New For U

Huxley – Box Clever

XXXY – Everything

The Town – The Movement

Midland – Placement (Lone Remix)

Sepalcure – The One (Kevin McPhee Remix)

Amen Ra – Akashic Visions

Actress – IWAAD

Beaumont – Never Love Me

Py – Lungs

Recondite – Tie In

Synkro – Knowledge

Vessel - Standard

oOoOO – NoWayBack

Previous Months:

March 2012

Feburary 2012

January 2012