Jordan - Division Point

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  • Jordan Poling has been kicking around in New York dance music circles for years, but aside from an appearance as JD on Soul People Music's reasonably obscure C.O.M.E. compilation from 2011, he's mostly just been a face at the city's better record shops and house nights. Now simply going by Jordan, he's set to make a little more noise in the coming months, with this EP for Finale Sessions his opening gambit. Tracks as atmospheric as those on Division Point are by definition unshowy, but Poling's obvious knack for details makes his 12-inch debut impressive despite itself. In a slightly earlier era, Division Point could have arrived on Underground Quality—like AYBEE, his early benefactor Fred P and especially Anton Zap, Jordan couches soulful house in a haze of introspection. He's at his trippiest on "Night Mask," where aside from drums and sub-bass, his sounds seem mostly built from murky voices. Even the deep dub chords that supersede the wisps of conversation have a vaguely syllabic quality, lending a creepily psychedelic quality to the composition. It sounds like a bad trip, if a lovely one to listen to. "Division Point" is built up from just a few spacious elements—nasal synths, feathery strings, a percussion arrangement panned wide—but they're so personable that the arrangement isn't wanting for anything. "Return," set to a quicker pace and with a slightly less downtrodden melody, is upbeat by the standards of this collection, and it's certainly the most obviously floor-friendly. But on the right system, played either early or long into the evening, any of these should go down a treat.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Night Mask A2 Division Point B1 Return
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