Dale Howard - Body Talk EP

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  • The first time I played these four tracks, I got the impression that Dale Howard might be American. He isn't—he's British, and runs the Static Audio label, digital-only so far—but between the red label icon (shades of Trax) and the pumping, hypnotic deep house (think Relief), it's not all that unreasonable an assumption. At the very least, the Body Talk EP situates itself nicely in that tradition—even as further listens bring out a techy sheen. "Body Talk," for instance, attracts with its muzzy, almost overheard soul vocal snatch and crackling hi-hat/handclap tandem, but pay closer attention and it's an infrared-glowing bass throb that hypnotizes. "16:11" has an even spookier vocal snippet, continuously looped, and percussion that skirts 2-step garage, with everything given some light dub and filter touches. "Until the End" is a lovely glossy-keyboards opening-set track; everything's in place, but only a handful of people are milling around yet, and this gets you in the mood. Howard saves the best for last: "Zbrowska," which buries the vocals even more (it sounds like a looped "hallelujah," it could be anything) under a lean house skip that preens like it owns you. It sort of has a point.
  • Tracklist
      01. Body Talk 02. 16:11 03. Until The End 04. Zbrowka
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