What is ‘shall not fade music’? With his »Bloom EP«, Swoose delivers a pretty accurate definition of the sound that has propelled the British label so far up the ladder in recent years. Nineties samples à la CJ Bolland meet ethereal textures, and when it’s supposed to turn wild, a trance bass line intervenes in the action. The Irishman performs this almost perfectly on the title track and opener, which also immediately explains why he has already had releases with the Northern Irish band Feel My Bicep: The basic beat of »Bloom« is strikingly reminiscent of their early edit-friendly days – »Vision Of Love«, »Circles«, etc. – and just before the trance bass kicks in, an ecstasy sample is added, reminiscent of the duo’s later creative phase. »Algo«, on the contrary, practices deep-sea diving and keeps a lower profile, with dub step wobbles flickering now and then next to an iridescent vocal sample alienated beyond recognition – rave sounds for exhausted grinning with the last reserves of energy. That, by the way, is the crux of the matter: Swoose produces music for the dance floor, just like Shall Not Fade releases it, which Raven doesn’t unnecessarily intellectualise. Instead, he opens up wormholes from one genre to the next with a love of quotations, with the lowest common denominator on the »Bloom EP« being house. The unexpected closer »Allure« stands out with its slightly detuned lo-fi piano as a departure point and organic breaks as a framework. A hint that a flesh-and-blood human being can be found hiding behind the dance music machine Swoose.
Earth Trax
The Sensual World
Shall Not Fade