I was looking for a song to post last night, something that captured the energy and beauty of the afternoon I shared with my wife, son, and brother in San Francisco, but nothing quite fit. It wasn’t until this morning’s walk to work that it all fell into place — clearly, the answer had to be “Star Time 2” by Squarepusher.
This track starts slow and quietly comes to a crescendo, only to completely unwind in the most peaceful repose. It is positively euphoric and borders on cartoon-like exaggeration, yet it still remains serene and well-composed.
I definitely gravitate toward music with space, which to me means an ample separation of sound that gives room to explore what lies between. And what lies between? Exactly: nothing. Most artists fail to consider that it might be better to not throw everything in all at once, and even fewer can wear that restraint as a badge of courage and push for greater separation. When he chooses to, Jenkinson masterfully toes the line between obvious and subtle, chaos and calm, thick and thin; I can think of no better illustration than “Star Time 2”:
I think it will be an all-Squarepusher week, with a quick look back at how he arrived at this point and that long-promised write-up of my favorite track from Just a Souvenir. But I’m also itching to play you some Plaid too, the Beatles of our electronic era. Perhaps that’s for next week?
I was hooked from the moment I first heard FlyLo’s sound, and everything that’s followed only confirms that Steven Ellison is a highly imaginative and intuitive talent. His stuff just works on the most fundamental level, and even with his increasingly complex constructions, he never loses sight of each track’s heart.
I have always felt that his music had a cinematic quality to it, a vastness encapsulated into such endlessly satisfying bite-size vignettes. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Ellison studied film in school, or that his aunt is Alice Coltrane, married to the great John Coltrane. Oh, and, he’s signed to Warp Records, home of Squarepusher, Autechre, Aphex, Plaid, and more. The man has pedigree in spades!
I could point you to any one of the 17 tracks on his new album Los Angeles, but for me the one that truly stands above and beyond all others is “RobertaFlack (feat. Dolly).” The sparsely spaced rhythm track shines on its own, but that gives Ellison plenty of room to add Dolly’s beautiful voice for color and depth. And then he tops it off with the most unexpected breakdown at the end, so ridiculously sultry and seductive I could listen to those last 52 seconds on repeat for the rest of my life and die a very happy man:
And if you like that, you won’t want to miss the exquisite video for “Parisian Goldfish” — Dance Floor Dale — co-directed by none other than one of my old favorites Eric Fensler. Be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart.