- Olin and Savile are residents at Smart Bar in Chicago. In addition to bulkier solo catalogues, the pair have one previous collaborative record under their belts. Released three years ago under the name Savile & Olin, the Horizon EP was a wonderful splicing of deep house with oodles of R&B and a smidgen of soul. Thanks, Karl (named in homage to one of Smart Bar's "biggest and best bouncers") goes instead for a jazzy feel, the original version of the title track dispensing with Horizon's seductive vocal focus in favour of a louche central guitar refrain plus equally laid-back keys and bass purrs.
The two producers both contribute an alternate version to the title track. Savile's falls close to the tree, enveloping the original in a dubby blanket and then drawing big pustules of bass out of the murk. Olin's take bears little resemblance to the source material, taking flinty, techno-leaning percussion as its base and offsetting it with the addition of sun-bleached wrist-flicks of synth. Thanks, Karl is a pleasant and by no mean one-dimensional listen, but it feels subdued after the heady pleasures of Horizon.
TracklistA1 Thanks, Karl
A2 Thanks, Karl (Savile Version)
B1 Thanks, Karl (Olin Version)