Following releases on 1080p and Hybridity, Vancouver-born Patrick Holland's latest EP as Project Pablo is coming from London-based Magic Wire Recordings. Continuing to work in a variation of the deep house template, Holland's efforts here are suitably chilled and laid-back, built to augment the clink of martini glasses in after-hours clubs across the land.
It must be difficult to stand out in a genre that emphasizes classy understatement and frowns on dramatics, and it remains unclear whether or not this is Holland's intent. What is clear is that the EP is an elegant slice of jazzy house music that easily holds its own alongside its contemporaries. What it lacks in terms of memorable, style-defining moments, it makes up for with a general feeling of assured elegance.
Holland has a predilection for vintage-sounding synth tones and live drum sounds that lend the release a warm and inviting vibe, with cascading melody lines that come and go over persistently funky bass lines, and little that is overtly synthetic in tone. Second track "Warm Priority" features a pleasantly reverb-soaked guitar line for instance, which adds a more complex rhythm for Holland's tasteful synth flourishes to descend upon. Following track "Lalime (Dandana Mix)" is an exercise in slow-burning grooviness with some well-judged bongo drums added to the mix. The EP is rounded out with a beatless jazz coda perfect for ending a late night at the after-hours club, and while you may not remember any specific moments from the album next morning, you will probably recall liking it.
(Magic Wire Recordings)It must be difficult to stand out in a genre that emphasizes classy understatement and frowns on dramatics, and it remains unclear whether or not this is Holland's intent. What is clear is that the EP is an elegant slice of jazzy house music that easily holds its own alongside its contemporaries. What it lacks in terms of memorable, style-defining moments, it makes up for with a general feeling of assured elegance.
Holland has a predilection for vintage-sounding synth tones and live drum sounds that lend the release a warm and inviting vibe, with cascading melody lines that come and go over persistently funky bass lines, and little that is overtly synthetic in tone. Second track "Warm Priority" features a pleasantly reverb-soaked guitar line for instance, which adds a more complex rhythm for Holland's tasteful synth flourishes to descend upon. Following track "Lalime (Dandana Mix)" is an exercise in slow-burning grooviness with some well-judged bongo drums added to the mix. The EP is rounded out with a beatless jazz coda perfect for ending a late night at the after-hours club, and while you may not remember any specific moments from the album next morning, you will probably recall liking it.
