Juanpablo seeks to bridge the past and present, influences from house and techno melting with a contemporary edge.
Frigio Records enjoyed a fruitful 2013 with releases by the likes of Seldom Seen, Esplendor Geometrico and Ideograma , not to forget an excellent mix for us at Igloo. It looks like the Madrid imprint has plans to continue this level of productivity and it’s up to the boss to get the ball rolling. Juanpablo turned heads, and ears, last year with his Lost Series (Part 1), building on his already impressive back catalog. 2014 sees four tracks coming together for the second part of the Lost Series.
“Polar” opens with bruising bars introduce the track, beats growing behind a bulwark of bass. Melodies cascade as drums clatter in a Chitown homage. The blurry “Orca” follows. Claps and snares splinter, percussion falling back into itself before swirling chords and samples take hold. Juanpablo threatens, a menacing atmosphere being established. “Glaciar” opens the flip as burly bars set the track in motion. Throbs of bass crack with steady pulses slicing through an intense audio fog. The contained aggression becomes too much and is finally unleashed with “Iceberg.” But this is not red eyed fury, instead this is an anger of corrosive acid juxtaposed by light-filled harmonies.
Juanpablo is an artist who outright refuses to conform to genre tags. So many artists turn to the sounds of twenty or more years ago, many opting for outright pastiche. The Frigio founder doesn’t. Instead, this Colombian artist seeks to bridge the past and present, influences from house and techno melting with a contemporary edge. A 12” of shaded sounds, unsettling motives and a refreshing uniqueness.
Lost Series (Part 2) is available on Frigio.
