- It's strange that it's taken this long for Max Graef to work with Apron Records. He and the label owner Funkineven share a taste for the smooth and soulful sides of dance music with a little grit and some off-kilter funk. It makes them an auspicious pairing. Indeed, fans of the artist and label should be happy with the Apron EP. These tracks approach deep house from both a classicist and weird angle, and each facet of the sound is integral to their appeal.
The distorted, broken beat that drives "Purpurner Nürnwurz" at first sounds dead set on subverting its rhythm, but when Graef brings in the warm chords—played with a pad that opens as it swells—the whole thing makes an unexpected kind of sense. Same goes for the lopsided groove of "Winkelrose," which tumbles and gurgles sloppily despite the subdued synths trying to have their say. "Cheeky Fusion Intro" somehow maintains its composure with a digi-bass, piano, chintzy drum machine and rough mix, sounding like the cool older brother to Delroy Edwards' Hangin' At The Beach. But "B.E." plays it the straightest here, a slick jazz-funk number that stays true to Graef's M.O. by flipping its energetic shuffle.
TracklistA1 Purpurner Nürnwurz
A2 Winkelrose
B1 Cheap Fusion Intro
B2 B.E.