Kyle Hodgson, a 24-year-old producer hailing from Calgary, Alberta sent a two track demo in my direction a few weeks ago, and I can’t help but think that this fella has something solid going on.
You definitely get the feeling when listening to “Mei Mau” that an interesting build up of soft melodic chords and snappy upbeat grooves are the backbone to what is held within. A soothing Boards of Canada’ish horn massages the instrumentally laid out blanket of textures. “Mei Mau” is a definite toe-tapper allowing you to relax to chilled out layers of melodies, and a rhythmic pulse all at the same time.
“Canal” on the other hand takes on a whole other approach. An aura of lively beats and magnetic waves of rhythm casually float above an alarming tweak. This track feels as if it were fed through a precise rhythm generator, as the entire mood is generally relaxed and one to sit down to. Its beat consistently rips through your ears as it softly inserts its punch in the background –very reminiscent of early Meat Beat Manifesto.
While Kyle’s Arbour demo is simply a two-track teaser, you can surely see that he displays an avid interest in constructing tunes that contain the right amount of electronically sliced melodies and lively percussion.
Arbour casually seeps into your subconscious within minutes of consumption.
