![]() Unfortunately, once the novelty has passed, the Zeppelin-ish drums just seem slightly out of place when the rest of the track just carries on its pedestrian musings around this pseudo-Bonham. One of the more radical parts of the album is when a levee breaking drum sound erupts out of the placid, folktronic tinkling of 'Shouss Lullaby'. It can be difficult to pull interesting tracks or moments out of the album as much of it can be difficult to physically pay attention to. What his fellow Brainfeeders have but Mandowa arguably lacks are interesting rhythmic patterns. The track 'Wavxxes' (which features Lars Horntveth from the fantastic Jaga Jazzist) starts off as fairly dull loop before becoming a duel between saxophone and acoustic guitar that eventually falls apart from what is apparently a wrong note, suggesting its origin might have lain in an informal jam. The album requires the exact right mood and setting and even then it fails to become much more than pleasant background music. Mandowa's music is largely a blend of tinkly organic instrumentation, tape hiss and chilled hip hop beats, and becomes fairly indistinguishable after a long listen. His work frequently seems like a far less interesting version of Adult Swim-bump FlyLo or third-rate Prefuse 73. In many ways it seems like Brainfeeder has become a way for FlyLo to sign artists from each part of his own musical personality, encompassing hip-hop, IDMish electronica, bass music and various strands of jazz descended from Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet.Į s t a r a finds Teebs' at his most pedestrian, however. Alongside music-making, Mandowa is a dedicated visual artist specialising in collage, and his distinctive style can be found on each of his album covers. His new album E s t a r a is his second official release following 2010's Ardour, the album features collaborations with Prefuse 73, Jonti, Populous and Lars Horntveth. The LA-based artist Teebs (Mtendere Mandowa) is part of Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder crew/label, and his wonky ambient beat-making fits right into their aesthetic.
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