Canadian DJ/producer Bruce Trail, named after a picturesque Southern Ontario hiking route, has teamed up with London-based Magic Wire Recordings for the release of Ravine Dream, a four-track EP of bouncy, uplifting house apparently inspired by an actual walk along the famous trail.
Those expecting pastoralist vibes á la Bibio, or artfully embedded field recordings may be disappointed; there is little here that explicitly evokes nature, unless you picked some of those mushrooms growing off the beaten path. But then, why question inspiration when the results are so satisfying? If you haven't found something transcendent to fixate upon by the time the sultry and mysterious flute solo arrives midway through "Bridgework," this hike is not for you.
Production-wise, Ravine Dream calls to mind the bright, crisp punch of recent Lindstrøm releases, although things never get quite as spacey here. There is instead a distinctly jazzy undercurrent that runs through this release, and a few unexpected but not unwelcome hip-hop samples thrown in — again, lending it a more urban feel than its inspiration suggests.
Everything comes together nicely here. Ravine Dream is a satisfying collection of fun and funky tracks that manages to explore more than a few moods during its runtime — and who knows, perhaps images of majestic evergreens will feature in the minds of some. One thing is for certain; those minds will be encased in some consistently bobbing heads.
(Magic Wire Recordings)Those expecting pastoralist vibes á la Bibio, or artfully embedded field recordings may be disappointed; there is little here that explicitly evokes nature, unless you picked some of those mushrooms growing off the beaten path. But then, why question inspiration when the results are so satisfying? If you haven't found something transcendent to fixate upon by the time the sultry and mysterious flute solo arrives midway through "Bridgework," this hike is not for you.
Production-wise, Ravine Dream calls to mind the bright, crisp punch of recent Lindstrøm releases, although things never get quite as spacey here. There is instead a distinctly jazzy undercurrent that runs through this release, and a few unexpected but not unwelcome hip-hop samples thrown in — again, lending it a more urban feel than its inspiration suggests.
Everything comes together nicely here. Ravine Dream is a satisfying collection of fun and funky tracks that manages to explore more than a few moods during its runtime — and who knows, perhaps images of majestic evergreens will feature in the minds of some. One thing is for certain; those minds will be encased in some consistently bobbing heads.