Saturday, May 21, 2022

Album Review: Sam Interface - Pink Dolphins EP

Whether it is a fair characterization or not, there are certain brands of jungle music that get labeled as "dolphin."  Which I assume is because the electronic rhythms can sometimes sound like the chattering laughter of one of our sea-dwelling porpoise pals- like someone just slide them a joke etched on a clamshell telling them to watch out for the evil tune... because he's albacore *rimshot*. UK DJ Sam Interface (formerly known as SNØW) leans into some of these cliches on his Pink Dolphins EP, but manages to come out the better due to his inspired integration of drill beat clatter and bustling gqom while allowing the auditory signals from around London's street life to filter in the flow of his groove. Train announcements and nightlife evanescent trickle through the percolation of sharp, sensible oscillations, augmented by body-stirring bass-ology praxis to elevate the cosmopolitan spirit of an international, ever-dynamic city- and you along with it. The rapturous synth groove and joyous, ponderous ebb of the beat supplies a feeling akin to a swift and steady rise into the air on the title track- like you've been scooped into god's own cupped palms and lifted towards the clouds. "Finally"  gives jungle a lightly cracked but bodacious makeover that will spin you around like you were a ream of magnetic tape and "Crud" engages luxuriant cinematic cues, durable polymer polyrhythms, and even the sound of a plane buzzing overhead to cause your inhibitions to crumble. A brisk and nimble dance record, Pink Dolphin manages to avoid waterlog by sweating it out on the dance floor. 

Out on R&S Records.