The Jaffa Kid :: Open Heart (Pulse State)

With so much to display, Open Heart offers a varietal abundance—precision electronic music passing right through our ventricles.

In a verdant forest of his own creation

The Jaffa Kid’s Open Heart lays it all out for true IDM enthusiasts—emotionally charged particles tethered across ten tracks (available as CD/DL), there’s no shortage of clean-cut rhythms and braindance beats scattered throughout. Active for just a few years, Daniel Pringle evades known pigeonholes of the abstract electronics genre, somehow gluing disparate elements to relaxed and chilled soundscapes with lasting effect. In a verdant forest of his own creation, the brittle drums and evolving harmonies transfer across each piece—at times fleeting, at times punchy, and oftentimes direct.

Standouts take shape via “Era 97” and its nostalgic charm of the late 90s IDM to heavier-set, bleep rolling downtempo drums on “Tenor Invader.” The Jaffa Kid diversifies with ambient merged drum’n bass on “Last Stand” to more hypnotic fluttering synths on “Winter Onset” and shape-shifting Aphex Twin techniques noted on “Qurasal II.” With so much to display, Open Heart offers a varietal abundance—precision electronic music passing right through our ventricles. Fans of classic/early Toytronic, Skam, Neo Ouija, and City Centre Offices might want to delve in head-first.

Open Heart is available on Pulse State. [Bandcamp]