J-Walk

Mellotronique

Image of J-Walk - Mellotronique
Record Label
J-Walk

About this item

If you know Brew's work from the highly lauded 'Limelight Nights' or 'Mediterranean Winds', then you'll know that his sound is a synth-heavy distillation of topical Balearic grooves and snappy disco percussion. This latest outing sees the musical polymath shift his focus slightly more into the almost-tailored-exactly-for-me saturated 8-bit grooves of 90's videogame soundtrackery. 

Kicking things off, 'City Slicker' matches a swung percussive groove against phased chord stabs and rolling synthetic bass, providing a perfect starting point for the wonderfully vivid landscape that is to come. 'Hypercruiser' brings in the most understated saw-wave bass (with *just* enough short reverb on to come popping out of the mix) before launching into a soaring, euphoric lift into one of my favourite pices on the whole collection, the wonderfully evocative portamentoed swing of 'Underwater Galaxy'. 

Both 'A World Someplace' and 'Winter Moon Rendezvous' hold their place perfectly, tactfully seguing between slowly pulled synth chords and twinkling dreamlike bliss. The former swims with a machine-funk groove, reminiscent of an 8-bit cityscape while the latter takes this established groove and slows it down, reducing to a few perfectly pitched elements.  It's this restraint that really sets J-Walk apart from the rest, with his keen production ear coming across perfectly in the finished product. 

Laters, both 'Chill Bien' and 'Equinox Desire' usher in hints of tropical groove, with the syncopated stabs of bass fading into a sea of reverb and bit-crushed guitars before pulling all the elements seamlessly into a perfect culmination of melodic drive and lysergic relaxation. 

We finish with the massive duo of 'Fait Accompli' and 'The Night Machine', the former bringing the latent Italo elements into the mix before the latter slams them home with an uncompromisingly crunchy, filter-manipulated freak-out. 

It's a stunning collection of tracks, and further evidence that J-Walk is indeed here to stay, thank f*ck. 

TRACK LISTING

1. City Slicker 04:00
2. Hypercruiser 03:57
3. Underwater Galaxy 03:44
4. A World Someplace 04:55
5. Winter Moon Rendezvous 03:53
6. Hologram Jam 03:43
7. Chill Bien 04:26
8. Equinox Desire 05:01
9. Fait Accompli 03:24
10. The Night Machine 03:19

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