Tuscan-born, London-based producer Michele Balduzzi, known to the electronic world as Phonat, quite literally has a birds-eye perspective on the world. Standing at a monolithic seven feet tall, he channels this nearly limitless height into vanguard compositions that are planted well beyond the boundaries of the sonic du jour. Following last summer’s critically lauded, meticulously glitched Identity Theft EP, Phonat’s Never EP, slated for a February 18th release via OWSLA, is a collection of two originals and two remixes that pay homage to funk and iconic 90’s British electronic sounds from a viewpoint far in the future. The recording’s title track, “Never”, is bass-riffed funk wrapped up with Eastern accouterment in an electronic cellophane, its surreal high gloss only checked by a series of subtle glitches. The following cut, “Phase to Face”, is a syncopated, dystopian offering that filters 2-step garage and IDM through the lens of a 22nd century robot. The subsequent reworking of “Never” by Asa & Sorrow adds a frenetic dash of breakbeat energy to the original, while a take from Icarus (which serves as the recording’s final track) embellishes with a retrofuturist disco flair that seamlessly morphs into early 90’s house synth.
PREVIEW THE EP’S FOUR TRACKS HERE:
https://soundcloud.com/phonat/sets/phonat-never-ep-previews
