Playgroup - Previously Unreleased EP1 - 3

  • Share
  • As a meticulous surveyor of electronic music, Trevor Jackson is uniquely qualified to present something with the scope of Previously Unreleased, a nine-part EP series of archived Playgroup tracks made between 1997 and 2001. There's some crossover here with last year's F O R M A T, his collection of 12 unreleased songs recorded over 15 years, which was distributed across a dozen formats, including reel-to-reel, VHS and various types of vinyl. Previously Unreleased, however, is less of a statement than a cathartic exercise. "The reason I need to get the music done is just to clear my head, so I can finally make some new music," Jackson told Aaron Coultate in an RA Exchange earlier this year, referring indirectly—and in part—to Previously Unreleased. Across the first three EPs—all nine are being released weekly until mid-September—you'll hear lacquered Chicago house ("Move My Body," one of several tracks co-produced by In Flagranti's Sasha Crnobrnja), MPC-assembled disco ("Ice Palace") and earthy new wave tones ("P.C.H."). Some songs are nearly 20 years old, but Jackson seems to have given each one a fresh matte coating. (Listen to them against older Playgroup material and you'll notice the difference.) Completists will be able to assemble the nine EP sleeves into a photograph by Bill Bernstein, from the photobook DISCO, which captured the New York club scene in the late '70s. In their dance music literacy and thick, cassette-borne hum, Jackson's EPs also try to capture something of that erotic energy. "Doin' It Right," a glamorous acid track that bubbles with cute effects and a gliding male vocal, encapsulates that feeling. Some of Jackson's best material is also found on EP2. Jagged bass synths and thick snares are submerged by tidal filters on "Flyte Mode." On EP1, the Robert Owens-sampling "Move My Body," a gleaming house track in the mould of Simoncino, is one of the series' most digestible treats so far. These tracks go some way to prove the necessity of Previously Unreleased. But while many of them are enjoyable, that feeling plateaus after five or six songs. The bassy chug of "I Want To Believe," featuring EDMX, can feel generic. The raspy bassline of "Live At The Funhouse" is fun, but the rest of it is slight. Previously Unreleased suggests that Jackson's Playgroup alias had much more life in it, and it's worth hearing more to get the bigger picture of that unrealised potential.
  • Tracklist
      EP1 A1 Move My Body B1 I Want To Believe (feat. EDMX) B2 Just Play The Music EP2 A1 Doin' It Right B1 Flyte Mode B2 Live At The Funhouse EP3 A1 Ice Palace A2 PCH B1 Butt Wot?
RA