Makeness drops his debut album, "Loud Patterns" on the Secretely Canadian labe. Crafting tracks which make a virtue of disparate influences, Kyle Molleson manages to pull off something difficult: songs which have been tirelessly worked on, although sound loose-limbed and to-the-point.

"Loud Patterns" is noticeably indebted to house and techno; there are 4/4 rhythms, and a no-nonsense directness that harks back to the Detroit pioneers. Channeling avant-garde experimentalism and an outsider’s interest in pop, Kyle embraces the distance between those two poles.

Cosmic Slop, an underground institution in Leeds, was another touchstone. As Kyle recalls,'That place was definitely an awakening in terms of dance music.' It boasts a hand-built, peerless soundsystem, a near-pitch black dancefloor and a music policy that ranges from Dilla instrumentals to Detroit house. It takes dance music away from regimented structure, fashion and trends and into a freeform world of creative, one which Kyle thoroughly embraces.

"Loud Patterns" arrives after a series of releases that have established his particular, in-between approach to dance-minded music. He put out two EPs on Manchester-based imprint Handsome Dad, a one-off single with Adult Jazz and self-released Temple Works EP; Whities also released a limited-edition white label of a Minor Science dub of one of his tracks.

Containing single, “Stepping Out Of Sync" - 'for me is about losing a little bit of a grip on reality,' says Kyle. 'There’s a big nod to the world of pop music in the track and I wanted to reflect that in the video too. Josha and Felix, who directed the video, came up with this great time splicing technique using a custom 3-camera rig. The idea was to use the technique as a character in the video to add a sense of detachment from reality and subtly invert the upbeat aspect of the music. I had also been talking to my friend Maddie who is a brilliant dancer about working on some choreography for the video. These aspects seemed to come together perfectly when Josha and Felix started sending ideas across. I think the video really captures the range of emotions that exist in the track, it’s upbeat and positive aspect alongside a layer of dissonance and confusion that lies under the surface.'. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Loud Patterns
2. Fire Behind The 2 Louis
3. Who Am I To Follow Love
4. Stepping Out Of Sync
5. Gold Star
6. The Bass Rock
7. Day Old Death
8. Rough Moss
9. Our Embrace
10. 14 Drops
11. Motorcycle Idling

On "Other Life" the creative forces of Scottish producer Makeness and art pop four piece Adult Jazz combine to create an addictive slice of catchy disco-not-disco with post-punk influences. Makeness is the name of producer and songwriter Kyle Molleson. Having grown up in The Outer Hebrides it was at Leeds Uni that he meet Harry Burgess, Steven Wells, Tim Slater and Tom Howe of Adult Jazz. Drawing on influences from Afro Beat, New-Wave and techno in 2015 he had his debut release ‘Laca-Langa’, a thundering percussive track. Adult Jazz released two lovingly received records, 2014’s ‘Gist Is’ and 2016’s ‘Earrrings Off!’ (on Tri-Angle) and have established themselves as one of Britain’s finest new experimental pop groups, with lyrics that tackle questions of identity and belief. Prior to the release on Meno Records, a then unreleased ‘Other Life’ was remixed by Whities producer Minor Science. 15 dub plates were pressed up and stamped with MXMS, finding their way to Jamie XX, Ben UFO and Roman Flügel, who all played the track. The original track is now being released by Meno Records, with a limited run of 300 12” as well as being made available digitally. Fans of avant-disco will rejoice at the sound, with its loose and un-quantized groove, synth squeaks, flourishes and off-kilter vocal falsetto, it’s the artists but not as you know them and totally addictive. Makeness and Adult Jazz let their hair down and follow Arthur Russell’s advice; ‘First Thought, Best Thought’.