Derek Piotr - Bahar

In the past he has manipulated new electronic music quite masterfully, but his vocals, in effect vapours of words, have too often ruined the mood he has just created,. On 'Bahar' Polish-Canadian Derek Piotr makes small but daring sounds with his fade-in, fade-out vocals on what might be his breakthrough album. Restrained up to a certain point, his nasal and inarticulate vocals, and his simple words, though remain the slightly disappointing antidote to his magnificent compositions. The track 'Day Residue' bridges the gap between jazzy dada and an eerie cabaret instrumental in a most intriguing way. His exquisite sense of timing of his breaks, beats, samples and sound effects brings back memories of the early days of Mouse on Mars. What Piotr lacks in wordplay and singing, he, however, more than amends for with his music. For example, Konono Number 1 samples are pitched down for 'Sunlight, Fruit Trees', and lead to a lovely, slow, little dub riddim. It is as if it's Konono Number ½, and part Kinshasa, part Canadian, but this cheap trick works to full effect on the latter part of this 8-minute track. On 'Exchanges' Piotr has the nerve to mumble, "Take a moment/Close your eyes/I know what I am doing," and slightly spoils what could have been another magical little composition. When he finally shuts his mouth, for the best part of 'Forest Floor', he, however, shows the excellent tension in his compositions. 'Forest Floor' plus the closing three minutes on 'There Shall Be A 'New Earth' make up for a particulary captivating ten minutes. Let there be dubs, instrumentals and remixes. Music 10/10.

Track Listing:-

1 Springs Revealed
2 Tone Offering
3 Day Residue
4 Tennis
5 Sunlight, Fruit Trees
6 Sprawl
7 Exchanges
8 Forest Floor
9 There Shall Be A New Earth

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/derekpiotrsou
https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/derekpiotr?lang=en

Label Links:-

http://www.bit-phalanx.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bitphalanx
https://twitter.com/BitPhalanx
http://bit-phalanx.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/BitPhalan
http://bitphalanx.bandcamp.com/