The first in a series of three Djrum EPs to be released by 2nd Drop Records over the course of the summer, the Forgetting EP is a likable but uneven affair, pairing two longer, beat-oriented tracks with two brief solo piano pieces.
The title track opens the EP promisingly. Haunting atmospherics lead to the introduction of a beat that's minimal and precise, with slick embellishments at all the right times. The producer's trademark strings and ghostly vocal samples are soon added, and the result is solid, although its minimalist tendencies are perhaps stretched a bit thin at six-and-a-half minutes; it plays like an expansion of a promising sketch.
Third track "Induction" is the EP's obvious highlight, a drum&bass-inflected workout that truly impresses. Fans of fellow Londoner SOPHIE will be able to catch hints of his production style in the way Djrum plays with pitch on certain drum sounds. It's a very assured display of current beat-making trends that is referential without being in any way derivative.
The remaining two solo piano pieces, while pleasant enough, are too short and slight to be memorable. Perhaps they will fit more integrally into the project as a whole once the remaining two EPs drop (on July 8 and August 12). For now, they stand merely as curios, and it would frankly be more interesting to hear Djrum's (fully competent) playing worked into a more developed and ambitious production instead of standing on its own. Here's hoping.
(2nd Drop)The title track opens the EP promisingly. Haunting atmospherics lead to the introduction of a beat that's minimal and precise, with slick embellishments at all the right times. The producer's trademark strings and ghostly vocal samples are soon added, and the result is solid, although its minimalist tendencies are perhaps stretched a bit thin at six-and-a-half minutes; it plays like an expansion of a promising sketch.
Third track "Induction" is the EP's obvious highlight, a drum&bass-inflected workout that truly impresses. Fans of fellow Londoner SOPHIE will be able to catch hints of his production style in the way Djrum plays with pitch on certain drum sounds. It's a very assured display of current beat-making trends that is referential without being in any way derivative.
The remaining two solo piano pieces, while pleasant enough, are too short and slight to be memorable. Perhaps they will fit more integrally into the project as a whole once the remaining two EPs drop (on July 8 and August 12). For now, they stand merely as curios, and it would frankly be more interesting to hear Djrum's (fully competent) playing worked into a more developed and ambitious production instead of standing on its own. Here's hoping.
