- There's a theory about contemporary house and techno artists that goes something like this: since affordable production tools are easier than ever to get a hold of, many producers make tracks in their bedrooms, and these intimate, solitary environments tend to foster music that reflects the space. There are plenty of holes in this logic—it might mean, for example, that Todd Terje could've only put together "Inspector Norse" under a parasol in the Caribbean—but it's an attractive idea all the same. And when you consider North Lake's latest EP, Two Headed Beast, the theory fits.
Isaac Delongchamp's music has a nocturnal, isolated feel to it, but Two Headed Beast sounds less like the product of a bedroom than a woodshed. This is particularly true of "Sun Gun," whose sonar bleeps, couched in a repeating vocal sample and broiling synth, partially obscure the sound of crickets at night. The other tracks delve further into what feels like the set of a horror film. "Two Headed Beast" rolls on a languid, Weatherall-ish chug, but its bells sound an occasional warning of something more sinister to come. The tunneling techno thump of "Caverns" has soft, galloping bells, like an unknown terror chasing someone through a forest. The more contemplative "White Lodge" houses Two Headed Beast's eeriest moment, when its faded screams are paired with an oddly blunted electro beat.
More compelling than Two Headed Beast's haunted, lo-fi aesthetic is its delicate assembly. There's seldom anything polished about the EP, but it's not really abrasive either. Delongchamp's tracks feel handmade, cobbled together with new and old parts to make something that, though slightly careworn, works as if it's fresh off the assembly line.
TracklistA1 Sun Gun
A2 Two Headed Beast
B1 Caverns
B2 White Lodge