Nicolas Jaar has the unique ability to make the mundane appear marvelous. His remix for When Saints Go Machine glows with negative spaces and smoke vapors. His music aspires to the mild splendor derived from organic miracles–falling snow, abstruse connections, the invention of the Clapper.
Shlohmo also understands the importance of keeping the lights low. Both artists are scarcely old enough to drink, but they already understand the idea of temperance. Like it’s nebulous name, Henry Laufer’s “Places” harnesses its beauty from the nondescript. While many of their peers are enamored with ornate flourishes– engulfing bass, silver synth filgrees, these two tracks are wonders of restraint. Their keys are minimal, the drums light, the mood is melancholy but never maudlin. They have the sort of patience you’d expect from older gods, not callow kids cutting their teeth while confronted with a lame limelight. Ideal soundtracks for stillness, laying supine on green grass, or merely smoking it.
Download:
MP3: When Saints Go Machine-“Fail Forever” (Nicolas Jaar Remix)”
MP3: Shlohmo-“Places”
