Sylvere - EP2

Many artists dream of fame and fortune. Sylvere dreams of massive soundsystems. The Parisian producer, who debuted on Monkeytown last year with the bassbin-rattling EP1, has soundsystem culture running through his veins (his father is from the French West Indies) and now he’s delivered another pack of rowdy club heaters.

The five tracks on EP2 contain the same rambunctious zeal that powered EP1, but the new record has its own uniquely boisterous charm. Toys opens the EP with a woozy bassline and a confident swagger, but Sylvere isn’t one to keep things cool for long, and he quickly unleashes a riotous burst of ragga-fueled drum & bass hysteria. A similarly hybrid sensibility runs through Twenty Four Seven; specifically designed with giant speakers in mind, the track thrillingly bridges the gap between the artist’s Caribbean past and European present, updating the ’90s digi-dancehall template for today’s industrial-strength soundsystems. Fields is another dancehall-flavored club destroyer, the force of its repeated airhorn blasts exceeded only by the track’s thundering gallop.

Those seeking a respite might gravitate toward the poignant melodies of Pulsar, but with its hammering drums and brooding sheets of bass, the song is ultimately another dancefloor smasher. Conception is even more relentless, with wildly pinging percussion that sounds — and feels — like bouncing around the inside of a rave-powered pinball machine. As it happens, the track is what convinced Modeselektor to bring Sylvere into the Monkeytown fold, and hearing its manic energy, it’s not hard to understand why the young Frenchman was quickly invited to become a member of the family.