There’s a greater depth to compositions, an enviable emotion to his craft and that same ability to melt a dancefloor when necessary.
Fans and critics love to compare artists with previous work. “The early stuff…yeah the early stuff.” It happens in any creative medium, but music suffers from it more than others. There is generally a desire to classify older as better, more authentic, the real deal. Some of the following might get bandied about:
“Ah, they went up their arse…” = They are no longer accessible.
“Sounds like boys beating biscuit tins…” = They’ve become overly repetitive.
But many musicians mature with age, grow in confidence and explore new levels of experimentation. D’Marc Cantu falls into this latter category. I’ve already written about the Ann Arbor man his year, his textured 1210 EP and expertly crafted Zone 4 12”. I’ve also been adding to my own Cantu collection, picking up his album on M>O>S. The more I hear from him, the more impressed I am. With this in mind, a 12” on Sequencias was bound to pique interest.
Cantu is no stranger to Sequencias, he’s darkened the NY label’s catalog with both solo and collaborative works. This time the veteran of Nation and Crème is working his magic with a three tracker. The 12” balances the Chicagoan’s brighter and darker sides. The title piece crashes into being. Complex rhythm patterns rain. Claps, toms, snares merge, bubble and burst. But behind the crack of hardware looms a melting wall of warbling melody. An uneven harmony seeps, expanding and deflating under percussion pressures. The dancefloor is sidestepped, but not ignored; instead this is an aural world of dreamlike division. That Ambient character is carried onto the flip; “September” ditches beats and focuses on the morning dew of soundscape. The low wattage of the club is revisited for the finale. “The Space Age Function” is gritty, unkind and sinister. Chords ghost behind hi-hats, fading before re-emerging with envenomed vigor.
Quietly, enough, this Ann Arbor analogue artist has had a very productive 2014 with releases on Desire, M>O>S> and upcoming labels like Ansatz. But it’s not the productivity, it’s the quality that has really shone. There’s a greater depth to compositions, an enviable emotion to his craft and that same ability to melt a dancefloor when necessary. Keep it coming!
Some Kind Of Strange… is available on Sequencias.
