- Phil Moffa is a professor, audio engineer and general fixture of New York's techno community (full disclosure: he also writes tech reviews for Resident Advisor). Until recently he mostly stayed behind the scenes, mixing-down records for his friends at his esteemed Butcha Sound Studios, but in the past couple of years he's started releasing tracks, first with Anthony Parasole and DJ Spider, and now on his own. Solar Lottery is only his second solo release (following a 12-inch from July called Elevation / Eno-Ugh), but it sounds like the work of a seasoned pro.
The EP is released on DJ Spider's Plan B Recordings, and while it fits with the label's leathery aesthetic, it's also more of a feast for the ears than what you'd usually get from this camp. On each track, the drums lend structure to a sprawling aural landscape. "Warm Wave" is the most cinematic cut, with enormous metallic groans hovering over its mid-paced kick. "Beyond The Sun," "Premonition" and "Dreams About Ditching A Body" are more in-your-face, but still with the same immersive depth of field (something we also heard on Moffa's tracks with Anthony Parasole, especially "Pressure" and "Atlantic Ave"). Murky sounds echo in the distance, offsetting the beefy drums up front, while shimmering aural flourishes swirl across the spectrum. These are fierce and exhilarating club tracks, driven as much by their sound design as their punishing rhythms.
TracklistA1 Warm Wave
A2 Beyond the Sun
B1 Premonition
B2 Dreams about Ditching a Body