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Essen's own Glenn Astro has called his first album Throwback, and the name is at
once a perfect fit and not nearly the extent of the story. On the one hand, Astro has
filled the double-LP with a wealth of old-school gestures and textures—the warm
whoosh of analog synths, the rattle of Rhodes tines and the sizzle of jazzy drums,
all held together by the comforting glue of tape hiss and vinyl crackle. If you're used
to the clean sonic lines and stylistic streamlining of so much contemporary house
music, then Throwback is sure to feel less like a record you just pulled out of plastic
wrap than a well-seasoned one salvaged from a flea market or unfinished
basement.
And yet like so many Tartelet releases—particularly the label's last two full-lengths,
Max Graef's Rivers of the Red Planet and Uffe's Radio Days—it feels fresh and
keenly contemporary no matter how vintage the fabric. Rather than throw back to
any one moment, he's given us a collage of styles that's quite literally timeless.
Astro makes brilliant work of his influences, drawing on hip-hop, house, funk and
soul in such equal measure that it's hard to argue that one impulse dominates the
other. The sound certainly flirts with the dance floor, with Astro applying highpressure
deep house pads on the title cut, gliding on shimmering keys for "One For
Viktor," and taking us on a vibraphone-fueled workout with "Kilometer Disco," one of
a pair of cuts featuring Max Graef. But Astro obviously relishes the time he spends
on the sidelines absorbing the atmosphere, or at home head-nodding to the dustiest
corners of his record collection. For every house beat you hear, you'll also dip into
juicy, 90’s-style beat science, toasty ambience and buttery chord progressions.
Expertly paced but never hustling you along, Throwback begs to be heard as a
whole but explored at your own easy pace—a record for hazy mornings-after, vibey
nights in and endless summer afternoons. |
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