Monday 6 August 2012

Shlohmo - Mix


L.A based producer Shlohmo (Henry Laufer)  has created a brand new mix for BBC's Radio 1. The beat making master has kept busy since his first EP in 2009, and has since released 2 albums and several more EP's. The mix is packed with brand new, unreleased material, including remixes of Drake, Ryan Hemsworth and Carly Rae Jepson. It celebrates and embodies many of the unusual and terrific approaches to production that define and will continue to elevate the producer as his career takes off.

Shlohmo's greatest asset lays in his unique ability to layer and transform sonic textures in front of the listener. Much of his music's success depends on it's capacity to embrace subtlety. Blanketing textures on top of each of each other until the discordant tension peaks and one or two of the melodic lines collapse to make way for new avenues. His tracks are decidedly melancholic, but somehow they retain their playfulness, (probably the same quality that drove Laufer to lower the pitch of "Call Me Maybe" down so it sounds like it is being sung by Darth Vader).

The beats themselves are another appealing element to his work. Rather than adopting an increasingly common method of composing, to ground a repetitive and lackluster beat as an anchor and then build melodic interest around  it, Laufer uses the full force of his electronic rhythm section, changing and transforming the beat and the melody simultaneously. The beat is never settled. From crisp and definite, to ambient and distorted, it has it's own personality and thus supply a transformative element to his work.

These tracks aren't for those who shy away from experimentation. They also aren't for those with no appreciation for Chillwave. To his credit, Laufer never rides the wave for long, frequently dismounting to introduce a new idea or element into his song. Shlohmo is carving out a reputation in the competitive Beat Making scene of L.A and hopefully will continue to progress.

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