Glitchy upstart Marcel Lune has made a bit of a name for himself already in the right fields, with fans of shimmering synths and stuttering drum patterns already aware of his playful sonics. He’s knocked out an album on London label Studio Rockers with an offering that feels a like summer with it’s overarching charm and hazy vibe, although the stop start beats are probably closer to the reality of what it’s meant for us here in the UK sadly. The weather eh?
Although he’s done very well to craft a very immediate sense of style there’s plenty of diversity on offer. ‘Gully State’ sounds like a mellower version of Roska’s ‘Squark’, like someone handed the Rinse FM starlet a spliff before he put the gloss on the mastering. Then ‘Soul Beat Runner’ feels like a deformed spacey house record which never quite gets out of the blocks, the frenetic drums somehow holding the record back and bringing a delicious pace.
When the dancefloor is eschewed completely is when it gets really interesting though, especially when the collaborations come in. Teenage LA based unknown Lee Jammaj certainly has a feel of an Odd Future outcast or Raury about him, but he adds more than enough charisma to the gorgeous DJ Quik referencing swing that underpins ‘Cali 96’. Dam Funk would be proud of this laconic low rider worthy jam. And then ‘Fantasia’ is just blissful, aquatic ripples over the appropriately named Haze’s gorgeous vocals. If the chill out phase was happening now and not in the late nineties this is the type of shit salesmen would be buying on identikit compilations from Tesco, oblivious to just how good the groove is that they are dissecting. And we mean that truly as a compliment.
But for all Marcel’s obvious reference points (there’s swathes of Flylo, Underground Resistance and early Floating Points elsewhere across the LP) it does completely feel like the work of one overarching musical mind, stitched together effortlessly. What also sets it part is the same ingredient every interesting electronic producer manages to bring, be it Herbert, Royksopp or Metro Area: charm. And that is a rare commodity in this instantaneous world of trippy rhythms, epic drops and immediate vocals. For that alone he’s got our vote.
Reviewed by Jimmy Coultas
3.5 out of 5
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