Boy, does Koett know how to almost piss me off, only to quickly redeem himself with the turn of a beat or phrase.
Boy, does Koett know how to almost piss me off, only to quickly redeem himself with the turn of a beat or phrase.
(Atomnation)
Sometimes opening tracks can be really misleading. On first listen, this opener on this LP, Assembled In, seemed so nondescript I thought, “naw “and forgetting to turn off to something more arresting, left the record on to brew up (such was its insipid nature I couldn’t be arsed to turn it off). Tea in hand I came back to a cracker of a track in Behind. What happened?
Still, after a few more listens, that opener Assembled In does nothing for me. But never mind we have the rest of Koett’s Golden Peak, which is just great; lush, expansive and at times damned hip shaking. Behind is a determined plod that also manages to be damned spacey with the minimum of fuss, even the vocal sample is (mercifully) kept on a leash and just allows the rest of the track to do its spacious, but surprisingly soi distant thing. Blacksad, I Am Fly and Lost Time pick up this non-committal vibe and mould the melange of squiggles blurts, flutes (!) and beats into clattering travelogues; whereas Careless floats about in a dignified manner, even surviving the odd sax parp, so level headed is the music.
Boy, does Koett know how to almost piss me off, only to quickly redeem himself with the turn of a beat or phrase. Again (and throughout – from the squidgy Golden Peak to the marvellously gonzo That’s Stuart, possibly the best track on here) there’s a feeling of remove and reserve in this record that is probably the cornerstone of why the record feels so spacious and flexible. When the beat drops, or when a sample starts to flex its muscles Koett reigns things in; avoiding the music coming across like Hotel reception area aural wallpaper; there’s a great balance between creating a sense of space and this attention to the smallest details. It walks JUST on the right side of normal (that is abnormal) and keeps away from trying to sound too smooth or acceptable; (I cite the way Lost Time ends, as Koett realises he just can’t keep feeding this sound as it’ll get boring). It’s a big relief as this kind of urban jet set groove can be fucking hideous to listen to.
So stick in there.