Nicolas Jaar’s little label, Clown and Sunset, seems to have its premises somewhere in a dark back room, in which clouds of smoke billow through the air that’s scented with the smell of fresh coffee and empty glasses of red wine. Because just like Jaar’s debut-album, Valentine Stip’s first release is a record free from any signs of every day’s hustle and bustle. A conscious step by the 19-year-old musician, who gave up his piano lessons due to his rigid time table and started to devote himself to electronic music. The born Frenchman then went to New York, now, as a student, he’s living in Montréal. The distances he traveled seem to have come back through his music in the shape of peacefully filled space. Between claps, bongos and pianos, the sounds seems to be breathing steadily and, over and over, the vocal-snippets seem to be floating weightlessly on top of the arrangements. Some of it does remind the listener of Space is the Only Noise. Just like the works of the label’s founder, Stip’s record is filled with dark sound-colors, and still, they don’t crush the listener but much rather leave even more room to dream up a full new universe around the tones. Hence, the recipient’s mood becomes a room-filling element because there’s no doubt that Stip didn’t want to impose a certain mood upon the listener. Depending on the actual situation, a song like Anything Will Do can either make you feel like you’re gently carried over soft sand dunes or can you remind of the feeling when you tiredly drag yourself through gloomy underground stations in the middle of the night.
Alessandroni E Il Suo Complesso
L’ora Del Cocktail
Far Out