Yarni Waterfalls EP
This EP is unlikely to pique the interest of those who like their dance music gritty, but the production is undeniably slick.
In anticipation of his upcoming debut album, Entkommen, Sheffield-based producer Yarni serves up two tracks from the record, plus two remixes from Bristol’s Ulex and German heavyweight Phillip Lauer.
Presumably a reference to the producer’s age - though whether wearied or celebratory, I’m not sure - ‘28 Years Of It’ is bright and breezy tech house with a bumping bassline and chiming bells, though the samples of cod African hollering could leave the producer open to accusations of cultural appropriation. With so much club music emerging from global producers directly, a world music sample in a western tune does err on the side of tacky.
Lauer’s remix of the same track is more club-oriented, with skittering hi-hats added in and bells largely sidelined in favour of an acid-tinged synth line. The second original, ‘Waterfalls’, has a more exploratory feel, with a sweeping synth that could be the sequel to the one in Kraftwerk’s ‘Spacelab’. This EP is unlikely to pique the interest of those who like their dance music gritty, but the production is undeniably slick.
The Ulex take on ‘Waterfalls’ is more low key, with the synth kept relatively subdued in the mix, leading to the style of meloncholic dance pioneered by Röyksopp and Groove Armada. The cover art, a black-and-white shot of misty telephone lines near Pole Moor, Huddersfield, is a taste of the album due out in April, which will feature a set of specially commissioned photos by Alan Silvester to match each track.
