- I love a bit of cheese. And I'm not talking about the alimentary variety, although some nice Stilton and chutney after a meal can really bring it together. No, unfortunately it's cheesy music, that source of all the world's troubles (recession, terrorism, etc.) that I'm on about. The occasional indulgence in things like Johnno Burgess' yacht rock RA podcast, or perhaps the odd bit of trance (a few summers ago I had "Winter" by Aril Brikha on repeat for days on end) after a meal can really bring it together. Usually, you'll find it all in the chords. And while Dutchman and psy-chill DJ Alexander Gaas' and Anna Chernyak's new EP could hardly be called cheese, it's full of accessible chord sequences, with the distance being set by smart, detailed programming.
"Hura" comes in with a basic bassline that wouldn't be out of place on Air's Premiers Symptomes, which is soon joined by a swirling mass of psychedelic squiggles swimming in an azure sea. It's dreamy and a bit sorrowful. It's also somewhat on the basic side, but as chill out music, this prevents it from becoming too intrusive. The title track is similar but better; the harmonies are richer this time, with a kind of glowing, nighttime "Solitary Brother" feel. It relaxes, then breaks out a bit more, evolving throughout with sometimes jarring results. Overall, though, it's smooth.
The comfortingly familiar chord sequence idea is at work most prominently on "Don't Say a Word", harking back to the late '70s, but it's buoyed by a snappy breakbeat with cool fills and reversed-sample whiparounds. Later on, a digital line flits manically around the high ranges, and a synthetic voice plays in the space when it leaves. The niceness and tech fodder aren't married completely homogeneously, but it's softening enough that you don't really mind.
Tracklist A Hura
B1 Lazy Shrimp feat. Anna Chernyak
B2 Don't Say A Word