Downtempo
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After producing a trio of richly sentimental discs under the titles Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Verichrome, Dylan Boyd has emerged from his Tulsa, Oklahoma darkroom with a hypnotic new album. Dreamcatcher offers up the same wistful, tranquil beats that have made previous works such easy listens. While its cover fits neatly with past work, the music’s…
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Vancouver-based Lee Nicholson has joined forces with the terrific Greek label Sound In Silence. His second LP under the name Test Card is a polished downtempo effort that, despite its complexity, demonstrates a wonderfully light touch. Nicholson’s sophistication is hard earned. In the 1990s, he fronted an English indie band called Formula One. Subsequent projects…
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Talk about a velvet touch. Seattle’s Christian Gunning is back with a second release under the Shelf Nunny brand. This five-track EP is among the best downtempo releases to cross my desk this year. Available from local favourite Hush Hush Records, the EP’s promo sheet describes Gunning’s “exploration towards pop territory.” This is both an…
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Historians will write about hip hop music with a primary focus on its lyrical content and social influence. Rightly so. The impact of the genre runs deep and worldwide. It continues to inform pop music styles and youth culture to an extent few imagined back in the 1970s. But as penetrating as that influence has…
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There are two kinds of music fans in the world. One loves hardware; the other software. Hardware lovers obsess over sound quality. They’re less concerned with composition or song writing, or for that matter genre. They tend to invest in the best sound system, and they’re constantly on the hunt for music that pushes their…
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Operating out of Athens, Greece since 2006, the Sound in Silence label has quietly assembled a strikingly beautiful catalogue of downtempo and ambient releases. Label runner George Mastrokostas has an extraordinary ear. Four new releases illustrate perfectly the strength of what Mastrokostas is building. No two are alike, and yet there are enough common threads…
The Moderns 