MTR117 | Released: 2021-10-15

Sylvere - EP1

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Prelisten

01
Sylvere - Rez Drums
5:32
02
Sylvere - Carnival
4:14
03
Sylvere - Shellington
5:04
04
Sylvere - Because
4:47
05
Sylvere - Rez Drums 2
4:14

12" Infos

Vinyl limited to 300 copies and only available through the Monkeytown-Webshop and Monkeytown-Bandcamp as well as a few selected record stores worldwide.

Tracklisting:

A1 - Rez Drums

A2 - Carnival

B1 - Shellington

B2 - Because

General Infos

Sylvere hails from Paris, but his musical vision extends well beyond the borders of the French capital. On EP1 — his first outing on Monkeytown Records following past releases for labels such as Trax Couture and Sans Absence — he references the familiar sounds of techno and rave music, but he also pulls heavily from dancehall and the bass-heavy traditions of Caribbean soundsystem culture. (In fairness, he’s been marinating in those rhythms his whole life, as his father hails from the French West Indies.)

Much of EP1 sounds like carnival, but its thundering tracks were largely written in the relative quiet of the early morning — during lockdown, no less. Not many producers can get into the right headspace to craft bangers at 8 a.m., but Sylvere is the sort of artist whose inspiration is fueled by contrast. A self-described oxymoron, he gleefully combines seemingly incongruent sounds and styles, which explains how a chest-rattling, industrial-strength thumper like Carnival can sit alongside the relaxed groove of Because, a song whose lead melody could have been lifted from a Ryuichi Sakamoto tune.

Elsewhere, both Rez Drums and Rez Drums 2 (the EP’s digital bonus track) recall the infectious bounce of dancehall giants Ward 21, while the slithering Shellington offers an updated take on UK funky. In Sylvere’s mind, it’s all club music, and though his rhythms often change from one song to the next, his objective does not. EP1 may be a product of the pandemic, but it was made for the dancefloor, and Sylvere is ready to do some damage. Watch out for EP2 to arrive early next year.

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