The name Wordcolour first hit the headlines in 2019 when a mix by the previously unknown producer for the podcast Blowing Up the Workshop, well, blew up. Pariah, Robin Fox, Jenny Hval, Judy Garland, Robert Ashley: it was an eclectic mix to say the least, collaging disparate musical material into a narrative – including one of his own productions. A door opener for the further development of the artist, who continues to keep a low profile and, after the release of three EPs, now debuts on his label Houndstooth with a full-length. The impressionistic title »The trees were buzzing, and the grass.« already sets the tone, while collaborations with percussionist Michael Anklin, vocal artist Natasha Lohan and performance artist Es Morgan, as well as contributions from friends who read out (or sometimes just giggle) lyrics the artist worked out with Morgan, diversify the overall picture even more. Over ten tracks, the producer plays with the glossy ambient aesthetics of projects like Visible Cloaks, integrates almost jazzy stuttering rhythms in the manner of Loraine James or even Jlin into the mix and occasionally even makes concessions to the dance floor. But »The trees were buzzing, and the grass.« is conceived primarily as a home listening album and secondly as a must-listen-through album – a record that lays out an esoteric-sounding concept in front of its audience to actively suck it into it. And although this by itself may not be unique: the intermingling of ambient, IDM and performance art elements is brought into a flow with similar, extraordinary consistency as Wordcolour’s breakthrough mix once was.
Scott Gordon
Metals
Diagonal