After collaborating with the Alchemist, Hieroglyphics and Joey Bada$$, Lee Bannon threw fans for a curve, releasing last year's Alternate/Endings, which showed the Sacramento producer moving from hip-hop beats into British IDM-influenced electronic. On his sophomore LP, Pattern of Excel, Bannon continues his musical restlessness, giving listeners 15 tracks that could best be described as amorphous ambient soundscapes. Similar to the music of Arca or Burial, Bannon melds R&B vocal samples with show-building, loosely textured synth lines, make tracks like "Artificial Stasis" or "kanu" come off as haunted, rust-covered meditations.
But since this is Lee Bannon, many tracks already seem to be looking into the artist's next musical conversion, as "inflatable" ascends into full drum & bass mode before tapering off, while "Disneµ Girls" works around gorgeous strings. His last LP under the name Lee Bannon (as he's already announced his name change to '¬ b'), Pattern of Excel shows the latest brilliant incarnation of an artist who's sure to have many in the years to come.
(Ninja Tune)But since this is Lee Bannon, many tracks already seem to be looking into the artist's next musical conversion, as "inflatable" ascends into full drum & bass mode before tapering off, while "Disneµ Girls" works around gorgeous strings. His last LP under the name Lee Bannon (as he's already announced his name change to '¬ b'), Pattern of Excel shows the latest brilliant incarnation of an artist who's sure to have many in the years to come.
