- "There's no need to hurry," Slow Life's DJ Tree told RA in January. From the outside, it might seem like his crew have taken that idea a little too literally. Delays have dogged the outlet ever since its first release comically arrived a few months after its second. (A Discogs user suggested the delay was intentional, but it was actually due to a pressing plant going bankrupt.) More than two years later we get Chromophore, Slow Life's first full-length compilation. Unsurprisingly, it's the clearest window into the Slow Life universe so far, a perfect entry point for those unfamiliar with the label's classically rooted sound.
Chromophore—which was scheduled to drop last November, but didn't hit stores until May of this year—is a deep house compilation that has little to do with the style's current form. Beats are tightly programmed and complex, paired with fancy basslines and glistening synths. Every element in each of these tracks deserves your attention. The producers have taken a minimalist approach, but the tunes themselves aren't particularly stripped-down. Case in point: Slow Life's in-house swing jedi S.Moreira, who provides the leanest, most rhythmically crisp tracks here. The Berliner's clearest skill, heard on "Clean Or High," "C2M" and "Elevate," is pairing effective, high-end percussion with melodies that are easy to digest but never obvious.
Chromophore's densest moments come on new tunes from veterans Seafoam and A². "Raz" and "Knotted" pile synths onto thick basslines and shuffling drums, recalling both producers' sought-after work on labels like An Alien, Groovepressure and Guidance. Mick Welch, Saverio Celestri and Luis Malon all take a more subdued route with their contributions. They round out a compilation that deftly explores an ample range of retro-tinged house while remaining grounded in Slow Life's signature lush, rhythmic sound.
Tracklist01. Mick Welch - Serenity
02. Luis Malon - Good Morning
03. S.Moreira - Clean Or High
04. Seafoam - Raz
05. A² - Knotted
06. Primary Perception & S.Moreira - C2M
07. S.Moreira - Elevate
08. Saverio Celestri - Jez Zie