- Adam Feingold's music has changed at an arresting pace. He started out making hard-edged techno under his own name, but once he turned to Ex-Terrestrial the tunes became lighter and more expansive. The first EP, released back in 2016, hinted at '90s electronica, a sound Feingold has revisited since. Portal Vision, the first release on NAFF, a new label started by Feingold and fellow Montrealer Francis Latreille, refines the formula even further, mixing IDM atmospherics with the groovy house sound that dominates Canada coast-to-coast.
"Vanilight," which appears in a version retouched by Priori, AKA Latreille, is the obvious highlight. A disco bassline walks underneath a collage of keyboard chords and gentle pads, using elements of '90s chillout to build something more current. Two versions of "Portal Vision" walk a similar tightrope between contemporary and throwback. The "Plain" version is house daubed with watery samples and buried kalimba loops—à la Mood Hut—while the "Kalimba" mix puts the instrument at the front, creating a house-not-house groove similar to those found in the mid-'80s. The odd track out is "2DS," which steps from the eerie light into humid rainforest atmospherics. With its laid-back amble and chintzy MIDI saxophone, it exists in the same Canadian funkmosphere as the rest of the EP, rounding off a record that puts a personal spin on an increasingly ubiquitous approach to house music.
TracklistA1 Portal Vision (Kali)
A2 Portal Vision (Plain)
A3 2DS
A4 Vanilight (Rezoned)