- When I spoke with Firecracker Recordings boss Lindsay Todd for February's label of the month feature, he attempted to explain the doleful feel of the label's excellent output. "There's definitely an introspective quality to Scottish people," Todd said. "Very long winter nights, a lot of whisky. It's certainly melancholy, the more I think of it." The producer Neil McDonald, AKA Lord Of The Isles, hails from Firecracker's home base of Edinburgh. He learned to DJ alongside Todd at a long-running bar residency over ten years ago, and has released two records with Firecracker's family of labels. His latest, Parabolas Of Neon, is one of the best in an impressive catalog, alternating between lush ambience and rhythms aimed at the lonelier side of the dance floor.
The concept behind the opening track, "Sunrise 89," is easy to ascertain. An ecstatic diva wails wordlessly as McDonald's acid house patterns are placed against his signature glacial pads. The stunning breakdown features nostalgic chords that seem ripped from McDonald's memories of partying out in the fields. That he can evoke the era without leaning on basic synth stabs, breakbeats or ham-fisted 303 lines speaks to his 20-odd years spent around synthesizers.
"Sunrise 89" is followed by a suite of short, lush ambient tunes. "Beatha" (Gaelic for "water of life," or more commonly, "whisky") uses a technoid line to set the stage for soaring strings and a big bassline. "An Stuc," a church-like organ piece delicately swathed in reverb and subtle synth buzz, hits on that Scottish melancholy. Like "Bryte" and "Tocpe 28," it's majestic and deeply emotional music full of pulsing synths and cascading piano. The title track ends the EP with another acid memory. A funky 303 figure and low-slung house drums coast in on clouds of sad-but-hopeful chords, reflecting on the good times with some quiet moments.
TracklistA1 Sunrise 89
A2 Beatha
A3 An Stuc
B1 Bryte
B2 Tocpe 28
B3 Parabolas Of Neon