The listener is given a glance at the more downtempo and tuneful stylings that are on offer in this producers lexicon whilst remaining within the experimental realm.
An echo-fueled excursion out of the tropics
With 2 full LPs released on Schematic, Shaun Phillips returns as A Typo I Feed Iris Noll one last time for 2021 with a deft display in rhythmic formations and experimental melodics in this 5-track EP The Sky Was Clear and Your Mind Was Open—available now via San Diego’s Bonding Tapes. Treated as a companion to Phillip’s Schematic debut Accumulating Intangibles, the listener is given a glance at the more downtempo and tuneful stylings that are on offer in this producers lexicon whilst remaining within the experimental realm.
Opening track “Signs of Earlier Constructions,” sits us down to a debrief of previous recordings; it is familiar territory that signs off from the psychedelic into the rest of this EP. Following tracks navigate through various explorations: “My Ghost Wanders A Distant City,” shines as the single from the pack with its catchy synth line and gentle atmospherics maintaining a stable environment. A great introduction track for new listeners. “Things Are A Lot More Like They Seem Than They Really Are,” steps away from the shine as we traverse underground for into sub-dub rock pools; majestic like the deep ocean, but as ever with Phillip’s work is a leering pang of worlds unknown. “Subject Predicate,” blends the psychedelia with instrumental hip-hop, catching the off-beats and subtle wonky bass in a smoke field of atmospherics that is reminiscent of lo-fi Odd Nosdam. Closing with “Concealed Within, I Was A Luminous Flower,” having gone through wormholes and abstract landscapes there is a return to equilibrium—or at least in terms of A Typo I Feed Iris’ normality with an echo-fueled excursion out of the tropics.
Shaun has had a really terrific year in terms of releases, his growth as an artist has been steady and never at a compromise for fast-tracking output. Each release has shown keen development without relying on tried and tested methods. What does next year hold for A Typo I Feed Iris Noll? We’ll have to wait and see…
The Sky Was Clear and Your Mind Was Open is available on Bonding Tapes. [Bandcamp]
