Whilst touching many sub-genres which dabbles in familiar territories, Davies always manages to have a lick of personality that makes all these compositions distinctly his own.
Complex, addictive and emotive music
Barcelona based forward-thinking champions Lapsus Records kick start their 2022 with a triumphed enigma of the underground electronic music scene—John M. Davies aka Datassette. Always bringing something fresh and nonconformist to the table, this time sees a 4-track EP titled Sentinel. The only thing one can expect from a Datassette release is the unexpected. Whilst touching many sub-genres which dabbles in familiar territories, Davies always manages to have a lick of personality that makes all these compositions distinctly his own.
Opening title track has us buried deep in dub weight and rotating percussion that concocts images of large warehouse and tunnel raves, being swept around shadows of strangers in a derelict environment you otherwise wouldn’t think twice about when walking past during daylight hours. Continuing on to “The Grey Goo Scenario,” sees Datassette build upon the previous atmosphere with additional breaks; gathering momentum as we start to navigate and gain understanding and breathing life into this nigh cycle. Projecting ourselves into “Gong Zahlensender,” this track opens the floor for braindance rhythms and gestures most would find relative to Lapsus’ Perennial Series, which celebrates classic productions from intelligent dance music pioneers throughout the 90’s-00’s. As worth repeating, whilst there is an air of homage, Datassette’s enthusiasm and polished stylings come into full force here creating a well-defined motif. Closing with personal favorite “Compound Eyes,” we are taken down a more abstract beat promenade. This one covers the depth of the previous tracks in a slow-motion warble of pads and detuned leads that carry a hint of jazz hitting off-kilter timings in this reverb soaked haze.
Datassette has never been shy of creating complex, addictive and emotive music and this magical music formula is replicated on Sentinel. Recommended for fans of Shed and Datach’i. Pre-orders in both digital and vinyl formats via Bandcamp, with a release date of January 21st, 2022.
Sentinel is available on Lapsus. [Bandcamp]
