Lapalux – Some Other Time
Brainfeeder: 2012
Last time we heard a full statement from Lapalux, it was his debut EP for Brainfeeder, When You’re Gone. It was a brief glimpse into the mind of the bubbling producer, someone capable of straddling the line between abrasive and beautiful, the area between overcrowded chaos and order. His new Some Other Time EP is a release similar in concept to its predecessor, but a step forward in a more refined and immediately enjoyable package.
Lapalux layers sound like no one else does. Sounds so dense and sporadic that anyone else would drown in the complexity, but he is somehow able to craft and engineer the tracks in such a way that even the most difficult concepts eventually become enjoyable. “Jaw Jackin’” is initially a difficult song, it contains beautiful melodic elements that are so buried in conflicting rhythms and clicking percussion it takes more than a few listens before it begins to make sense. “Strangling You With The Cord” is similar, the most aggressive track on the short EP, but ultimately one of the most rewarding after repeated listens.
While he is able to make enjoyable tunes out of dense surroundings, Some Other Time also shows the producer other side, working with vocalist Kerry Leatham in order to create the EP’s defining moment “Forgetting and Learning Again”. Rising out of the heavy “Jaw Jackin’”, Lapalux is able to work in Leatham’s soft vocals into his most pop-leaning production to date. It’s immediately great from the first moment, as Lapalux effortlessly molds a vocalist in with the most beautiful sonic elements on the EP.
Some Other Time shows all the sides of Lapalux that we’ve seen through his short career, his difficult and syncopated beats alongside a beautiful productions with a vocalist, much like the remixes that slowly built his name. It’s his tightest and most refined statement to date, and moving forward it’s clear he has enough talent and technical ability to do anything he wants. I’ve got my fingers crossed he continues to work with more vocalists.
4 out of 5