ISSUE #11
Imagine Gold - Frameworks
A pleasantly nuanced downtempo record with enough groove to keep you plugging away at a passion project or immersed in your workday, Imagine Gold will occasionally give you pause to appreciate the lush, emotive soundscapes Frameworks, aka Matthew Brewer, has become known for.
If you’re a fan of Emancipator you may be familiar with his label Loci records. We were lucky enough to catch Frameworks alongside label mates LAPA, 9theory and the label head himself at the Loci showcase this spring (read our review!). Brewer corralled the audience into swirling cumulus with an energetic and tightly dialed live set in which he played synth and live drum pads to compliment Ableton wizardry. I can’t prove it, but I suspect I heard a track or two from the unreleased Imagine Gold that evening.
Our favorites from the LP include the smoldering echoes of Fires - a minimal dance track with affected vocal chops reminiscent of a Bonobo jam - Delphina, a clockwork intricacy that builds upon itself in shimmering layers before overflowing with mournful viola, and the standout 7-minute single Coming Back. Ben P. Williams lends a stoic yet emotive vocal element to the mostly instrumental release, at times listless and driving at others. As the long track builds Frameworks brings more intensity to the simmering instrumental, feedback prying its way in through the cracks.
This album is incredibly listenable, the tracks similar enough to melt together in your inner ear but unique in their facets upon closer listening. Mellow enough to study to but with enough gas to unite a dance floor, Imagine Gold is a prime example of downtempo’s potential as an all-the-time genre and something we’ll be looping for some time to come.
Matthew Brewer: Frameworks. Image courtesy of Loci Records.
Check the album out and let us know if you like it! We’re on Instagram too often and would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and happy NMF!
<3 Zach
Versailles (Hold) - Christian Löffler
Christian Löffler’s latest single from his upcoming album is the perfect soundtrack for this cold, wet Bay Area weekend. Grab a blanket, a warm caffeinated beverage, and float amongst the gray skies.
It was around six in the morning today when I woke up to my phone buzzing. It was a Facebook message from the one and only Christian Löffler (or whoever is in charge of automating his messages to fans on his Facebook page). It read:
“Hi Armando! I want to let you know that my next album “Lys” will be out on the 20th of March and you can already listen to the first track “Versailles (Hold)” right now…”
At that moment I didn’t give a shit that I had been woken up 2 hours before my alarm. I was wide awake. I grabbed my headphones, went back into bed, wrapped my comforter around me, and let Löffler cradle me in his arms while I watched the moisture and fog of my bedroom window evaporate with the morning sun.
Christian Löffler live in Berlin. Image courtesy of Christian Löffler.
Versailles (Hold) is near-five minute track that begins with Christian Löffler on vocals for the very first time in his discography— a pleasant departure from Mohna, his regularly featured vocalist. You can describe his vocals as sad, pained, and depressing, but doing so would diminish the creative genius behind Christian Löffler’s signature sounds as a minimal house producer. Because while you could generalize and say his music is “sad,” there’s no denying that there’s a distinct beauty to his sound. Once the beat comes in, it’s Christian Löffler true-to-form. It moves you physically and emotionally. It’s atmospheric, it’s calming, and paradoxically warm and cold. It’s the perfect follow-up to this year’s LP, Graal (Prologue), and the perfect appetizer for his upcoming 2020 LP, Lys, which I honestly cannot fucking wait for.
Give me your saddest electronic music and I will find some way to dance to it.
