- I saw Evan Baggs DJ for the first time in 2014. His set brought together continental house and restrained flavours of two-step to awesome effect. He presented a tougher, straighter sound that was quirky yet techno-oriented when I last saw him a few weeks ago. This shift in focus is mirrored in his productions. 2015's Not A Story was high on bass but its rhythmic character was serene, clean and swinging. Neu Rochelle is clearly the work of the same producer, but the vibe is more hostile and alien (even more so than the recent Ek Box 12-inches produced with Katsuya Sano). While Time Passages head Binh generally has as little as possible happening in his tunes, Baggs's four-tracker is action-packed, calling to mind the unhinged edge of bleep and electro and the wackier strains of Detroit techno.
The title track is Neu Rochelle's outlier, suggesting vulnerability through its melodies. "All Question All Answers" features the ubiquitous LFO'd filters found on "Neu Rochelle" and much of Binh's and Spacetravel's productions, but is buoyed by a bassline combining jaunt and menace in classic bleep fashion. Both sides have their merits, but the B-side is more unique. On "Ult," starry glints, filtered cymbals and a woah-ing mid-range make for a nuanced mixture, so the sizeable dosage of bass is the cherry on top. "Still Breezin" has a similar sound palette, but the simple, recurring pitch shift of the bassline keeps it packed with urgency. While keen followers of labels like Time Passages will recognise Neu Rochelle's constellation of references, there's still a fine line between pastiche and a genuine article—this 12-inch is an on-point case of the latter.
TracklistA1 Neu Rochelle
A2 All Question All Answers
B1 Ult
B2 Still Breezin