BEYOND THE WIZARDS SLEEVE - The Soft Bounce

Erol Alkan, on English soil, is esteemed and known above all for the work of his Phantasy Sound. Over the years of activity, in fact, he's signed the likes of Daniel Avery, Boys Noize, In Flagranti and others. However, he has always shown a not-too-hidden passion for psychedelia and 60s pop too (see his production work for Connan Mockasin dated 2011). Since 2009, moreover, he has run a project with the more anonymous Richard Norris under the name Beyond The Wizard Sleeve, the two united by a shared passion and ideology rooted in San Francisco's original "Summer Of Love", reviving the instrumental project and replicating it on LP, again for Phantasy Sound.

“The Soft Bounce” picks up the legacy of groups from the past decade such as Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Justice and the whole electro-pop wave; the idea, precisely, is to bring back the psychedelic sound of the 60s paired with a light, atmospheric electronic music in the fourtetiana vein. Generalising, or in any case pinning down, the new BTWS album to a handful of genres would be inappropriate – it's far more varied than a focus built solely around the "Summer Of Love" reinterpreted through British eyes. So we get the purely electronic ambient track “Tomorrow, Forever”, the energetic post-rock of “Finally First”, the trip-hop-styled piece jewelled with Holly Miranda's sublime, very delreyano voice on “Black Crow”, the psychedelic one-two of “Delicious Light” – “Iron Age” and the standout “Creation”, chained to “Triumph”, which simply slows its momentum down.

Yet another proof of Erol Alkan's talent, showing he's just as adept with more conventional instruments as he is behind the deck; a genuinely clever listen that links 60s music with contemporary electronics, running a short, lean length that slips by with frivolous pleasure.

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24/08/2016