- An exciting newcomer smooths out experimental club music.
- The London-based producer object blue uses Shakepeare's King Lear as a point of reference for her second EP, REX. It's an apt association, especially with the unanticipated consequences of the old ruler's seemingly well-considered plans. After a particularly tumultuous autumn last year, object blue told her label to erase the demos she had submitted before completely reworking what was intended to be her debut record. Distilling intense experiences into art is not easy, especially if the music is supposed to signify a reinvention of sorts. But object blue's new direction is evident from the first moments of REX, as she brings a refined chill to the abrasive sounds of experimental club music.
"The Princess Is No Longer At This Address" pulses with synth swells that wax and wane, then with sudden trance-like rhythms. Percussion eventually ricochets through the sonic space, with all the energy of a delirious routine. object blue makes sharp sounds malleable, and vice versa. An Aaliyah sample takes on the rich vibrations of a stringed instrument, while an acidic bassline is dulled to give the midrange sounds more room to develop. "Chipping At The Kingdom" moves war drums around the mix, sometimes forceful, sometimes not. There are lots of layers across the rest of REX, too, and lots of double takes. This carefully constructed unpredictability—object blue describes the record as "an assemblage of messes"—is the narrative that eloquently threads the EP together.
TracklistA1 The Princess Is No Longer At This Address
A2 (Time To) WORK
B1 Cordelia's Call To Arms
B2 Chipping At The Kingdom