Tag: Jacques Greene

Please Keep Shimmering – Tom VR

Since I came across this album today I’ve had it on repeat. It was released in 2021 on Seb Wildblood’s All My Thoughts imprint, and the music shares a lot stylistically with his releases. You’d also be forgiven for at times mistaking it for Four Tet or Jacques Greene. Which is all really to say that it is pretty lush.

The world of Please Keep Shimmering is heavily textured, flitting between organic ambient soundscapes and tracks that are more recognisable as house. In the words of RA, it “flutters and glistens”. He also introduces subtle IDM influences in a really cute way that never overpowers the deep groove. The album is a rich, contemplative, work of art. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Please keep shimmering.

Gunk – Overmono

I’ve been sitting on this for way too long. Please forgive me.

It’s UK duo Overmono with Gunk. They stood out at Wide Awake festival and this track was the one with the biggest impact. It has a ravey Jacques Greene kind of vibe that hits right.

They are getting well stuck into the European festival circuit with a UK tour to follow in the Autumn (including Koko in September) – don’t miss out.

Bonus track: this was my first exposure to the duo – an incredibly powerful remix of an incredibly powerful track. Full write-up here.

A View of U – Machinedrum

This is a really interesting album to listen to. Tracks are scattered from 81 to 147 bpm. I get that that might not sound like an appealing prospect to some people. But I think this is one worth a little effort. Each track feels like an event – they weave together in way that shouldn’t work but does.

You’ll know what I mean from the first two tracks The Relic and Star – they have more than a touch of Jacques Greene about them – building R&B vocal samples into a broody electronic aural landscape – but they go into a darker place than Jacques tends to. The album then swerves into over the top brass and hip-hop with Freddie Gibbs on the vocals, before reaching my top pick, Wait 4 U. It is neat and uncomplicated, like an early Ramadanman track. My other top pick is Believe in U is Wait 4 U‘s upbeat twin. A final mention goes to 1000 Miles, featuring Sub Focus.

Bonus track: this is what got Machinedrum onto my radar back in 2014. It’s his emotional remix of Kelis, and it’s a banger.