- Priori and Dust e-1's first new collaboration in four years highlights their range, from club-ready barnburners to gorgeous aqueous ambient.
- As ANF, Montreal producers Priori and Dust e-1 have honed a tasteful yet party-ready dance music formula. The duo's sound pushes at the limits of prog house, trance and techno. On EPs like 2018's Visions (S.T.T.G) and 2019's stellar TV Science, expansive atmospheres are held together by taut rhythms and sharp low end, landing in the same sophisticated realm as some of the more propulsive releases put out by Priori's label, NAFF.
ANF's new EP, Costly Blooms On The Eve of Collapse, is more varied than their past output. Their material usually uses gorgeous textures to conceal a deceptive underlying energy, like a put-together friend subtly coaxing you to stay out all night. The driving, psychedelic tracks "Passive Massive" and "Technique" convey this same feeling of boundless momentum. But the most interesting points here are the ones where ANF chill out, more reminiscent of Prior's work in his gauzy project Healion. "Images" is centered on a shuffling trip-hop groove and acid bassline, complimented by a warbled voice repeating the words, "countless images." Closer "C.B.O.T.E.O.C." takes a rave-ready palette and flips it into ambient, with gentle bass arpeggiations and blissed-out percussion. These calmer moments a relaxed post-party swim through bioluminescent water.
While some of these tracks would work well in a peak-time DJ set, the most intriguing cuts are the ones that showcase ANF's newfound range. As solo artists, Priori and Dust e-1 have grinded hard to solidify their places as some of the most exciting players in the booming Montreal underground. On Costly Blooms On The Eve of Collapse, their recent growth is palpable.
Tracklist01. Passive Massive
02. Images
03. Technique
04. C.B.O.T.E.O.C