Nicolas Jaar At Juno Download

Review: The New York-based Chilean Nicolas Jaar releases his first EP for Circus Company after a string of releases on Brooklyn label Wolf + Lamb. Of course this is another sombre affair from the young producer but as indicated from the abstract artwork, it's not all as straightforward as that. It seems pointless to attempt to categorise it as any one genre, which is characteristic of Jaar's complete disregard for boundaries combining anything from disjointed electronic sounds to sampling hip-hop beats or French opera. Perhaps less dark than some of his past tracks, the lyrical vocals in "Marks" are a little more upbeat, paired with light pianos and jaunty percussion, whilst "Angles" is focused around layered vocals in subtly melancholic tones, cleverly arranged with plucked strings in minor keys. "Materials" however features inevitably off-kilter pianos and brass, juxtaposed with electronic beeps and percussive claps entering the din. A superb EP.

Review: Due to the hype driven nature of contemporary electronic music, it's possible you might have already forgotten how the debut Nicolas Jaar album sounds, so kudos to Circus Company for dropping the first of what should be an intriguing series of remix EPs. The words Pepe, Bradock and remix are likely to elicit shrieks of excitement amongst the more considered house heads and the Gallic deity serves up two versions of "Too Many Kids Finding Rain In The Dust"! The opening Blind Pig version is a heady brew of psychedelic sonic twirls and twisted orchestral flourishes over a bumping mid tempo cosmiche groove, whilst the Train Fantome Poke is a more intense, uptempo reinterpretation. Check the flip for Dave Aju's tinny but eminently mixable take on "Space Is Only Noise".