- The English producer turns to an open-hearted IDM sound.
- After two EPs that explored themes of privacy and online manipulation, Vester Koza's debut album, loader mither, presents an almost confessional honesty. Tracks shrouded in murky sonics and oblique references to data systems have been replaced by heartfelt melodies and track titles that chronicle a disintegrating love affair. The misty chords and sampled voice that open "mote controller," pleading "Don't let your eyes deceive you," strike a note of vulnerability that, by the record's closing track, "and like that…she's gone," becomes a meditation on loss and regret.
loader mither also soundtracks a more permanent love affair in the London-based artist's life: one with UK club culture that began when the Cheshire-born Koza started raving at English superclubs like Cream in the '90s."taped over the courtyard mix" is presumably named in tribute to the room in Cream where Paul Oakenfold held his famous residency, which for many—this writer included—was a gateway to more underground sounds beyond the trance spun there. "frm angel meadows to abundant slums" is similarly nostalgic, with an opening that recalls the Twin Peaks sample Moby used for "Go."
Koza acknowledges his inspirations without imitating them. "my well crap car" could be a nod to Squarepusher's "My Red Hot Car." (Koza has suggested the Warp artist is an influence.) But the style is all Koza's own, a curious mixture of the nervy and subdued, with skittish drum patterns winding through sounds that gurgle in the eardrum and echo in space. There's a similar interplay between the abrasive rhythm and forlorn melodies on "met her in the backsies."
Though markedly different from the house-driven sound of Koza's first EPs, the crackly interstices of tracks like "arthur two sheds" are quintessentially Koza. That subtle complexity is reflected in all his music's introspective moods, from the detailed deep house of 2013's "Mosquito" to the various interior worlds across this LP. loader mither is occasionally tinged with the bittersweet feeling that comes with thinking about the past. But the fresh ideas across the album ensure that Koza doesn't dwell on it.
Tracklist01. mote controller
02. met her in the backsies
03. arthur two sheds
04. my well crap car (mardy mix)
05. don't hurt me
06. frm angel meadows to abundant slums
07. taped over the courtyard mix
08. and like that...she's gone