FYI Chris - Lionoil EP

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  • There's a charming, casual execution to plenty of the more coveted house 12-inches released as of late. Records on imprints like Mood Hut, Help Recordings and Sex Tags embrace messy production touches, as if distancing themselves from unabashed careering. Unlike "outsider house," this music isn't often wildly experimental, but it does seem tailored for grimy basements full of art-school kids and record heads. Peckham outpost Rye Wax, located in a beer-soaked basement under the iconic Bussey Building in South London, fits that bill, and FYI Chris, a rising duo from the area, embodies this shambolic philosophy. Before the Lionoil EP, FYI Chris (two grinning youths named Chris Coupe and Chris Watson) debuted with a loping, addictive sample-house jam for Church. Their record for Rhythm Section International, run by South London mainstay Bradley Zero, nicked a sax line from the radical jazz icon Archie Shepp. On this record, FYI Chris maintain the casual feel of their previous efforts while providing their own melodies. "Secret Bullshit"'s samples are limited to a tossed-off spoken word piece, in which a man rattles off something about Chicago and Tanzania over a sputtering synth and a peaceful, three-note bassline. A lovely oscillated lead billows in before it's dropped, as if finishing the phrase would've been too fussy. "For Now" begins with a lumpy, tribal tom pattern, before it builds a wonky melody from a pitched hi-hat. "Xenomorph," on the other hand, has the Chrises trying their hand at a full-blown club cut, with the requisite diva hook and dark room fug. "Taking The F Train" streamlines the cut-up vocal samples and weird percussion into the record's most straightforward track. With the duo's innate quirks all but ironed out, it's the EP's least remarkable production. All told, Lionoil, as with every FYI Chris effort to date, brims with personality.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Secret Bullshit A2 For Now B1 Xenomorph B2 Taking The F Train
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