EP Review: Ain't Got The Time EP - Navid Izadi

You can tell a lot about Navid Izadi by with whom he associates - this EP on Double Standard features the soulful PillowTalk and he has recently worked with Deniz Kurtel and Soulclap.

View fullsize

Ain't Got The Time EP - Navid Izadi

So much of the EP has the exactly the kind of simple yet well perfected electronic sound of someone like Kurtel but with a little more soulful flair. There is a bluesy mood through the whole EP and the vocals all play to that. The title track has a simple spongy analogue bass sound wrapped in slow moving synths and hard 808 electro rhythms together with a moody vocal. This is then followed by 'Lost In The Fold', which retains the muted tone but has a little bit of disco in its heart, the warm, soft electronic chords the perfect soundtrack to early mornings and driving through the dark. It is a well realised track and a highlight of the EP.

PillowTalk feature on two tracks - 'Too Long' and 'Follow The Leader'. Their vocal style is actually pretty similar to Navid's and so it isn't surprising to hear them here, though some vocoder work on the first of these tracks does lessen their usual impact a little. 'Too Long' is played a little more free form than much of the rest of this EP, with an extended middle-break. 'Follow The Leader' lets the vocals come through a little stronger and features a rap from Navid - it sounds like something Outkast would make with enough time locked in a Detroit nightclub, which is pretty good as far as I'm concerned. Deep, thick and strange - once again, it is a real highlight of this six track EP.

Ain't Got The Time EP is released through Double Standard on 12 November, available to pre-order on Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

You can stream 'Lost In The Fold' on Soundcloud below - there are a few more tracks on Navid's Soundcloud page:

EP Review: Straight To The Moon - Tanner Ross

Image source: Zaber RidersThis new one out on Double Standard is pure gloss and sweat. Tanner's EP recalls smooth electronic R&B from the late eighties and early nineties conjuring an infectious retro set of smooth grooves. It feels like it almost could have been there.

Straight To The Moon opens with the ensemble cast number 'Blame Game', featuring Slow Hands, Pillow Talk and Jesse Rennix - the latter two sparring syrupy vocals that keep the soul flowing. Next up is 'Frequent Flyer' featuring Jules Born - it's a heavier, funkier track that melds 'Billie Jean'-esque wandering bass lines with a more up-to-date production style. The result is thick and infectious, lazy and sun bleached and therefore perfect for days doing nothing in the warm summer sun.

The instrumental title track is more cosmic - basically little more than a locked groove tweaked out over four-minutes that sounds like Com Truise with a Flock Of Seagulls haircut. 'Straight To Mexico' is more laid back - swirling keys and drums stabbed through a honey thick bass. Soul Clap's Lonely C turns up on 'Be Chillin'', a dubby affair with distorted vocals that is the one track here that struggles to justify its position.

Things are rounded out with instrumentals of 'The Blame Game' and 'Frequent Flyer'. Overall Straight To The Moon feels a little like one idea played several times over but it's so perfectly suited to summer pool parties and slow, hot days that it's hard to resist.

Straight To The Moon is released on 18 June through Double Standard.

Single Review: She's Bad - Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap

Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap's 'She's Bad' is without doubt the slinkiest little soul jam to have dropped through BlackPlastic's virtual letter box in some time.

Minimal in approach it focuses on doing not a lot but doing it rather well. 'She's Bad' screams for laid back afternoons on beaches, its keys hot enough to make the tarmac go sticky under foot and the snatched vocal performance straining under the weight of a sun-baked libido. This is basically what shithouse funky house would sound like if it wasn't shit an was actually quite good.

'Beautiful Thang' over on the flip is a little less irresistible but still a pleasant way to pass a few minutes, with a thick and slightly rude bassline. It's a more dance-floor focused affair and won't permeate your subconscious in the same way but the campy vocals provide a standout moment.

She's Bad is out on Double Standard Records.

BP x

MP3: Water's Edge - Greg Paulus

Hopefully wherever you are this weekend the weather is as good as it is for BlackPlastic this weekend. Whilst soaking up the sun few things are better than a soundtrack of dubby house and as such we're extra stoked to be able to share this track from Greg Paules' What's Mine Is Yours EP.

Paulus originally got into jazz music via samples in hip-hop, listening to records by A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, and his listening habits manifest themselves in the playful rhythms and warmth of this record. James studied music and culture in Havana, Cuba, before moving to New York to continue studying jazz and classical where he has spent time studying and working with James Brown drummer Jabo Starks and Lauren Hill.

Following a period on tour with band Beirut Paulus has now settled in Brooklyn and is focusing on electronic music. He also records as Just One Night with Gadi Mizrahi of Wolf + Lamb, founder of Double Standard Records, on which this EP is released.

'Water's Edge' isn't a full on club track - take this one and keep it with you for poolside lounging and days on the beach... It's perfect for soaking up the summer sun to.

Download Greg Paulus' 'Water's Edge' on MP3 [right click, save as]. 

BP x

The What's Mine Is Yours EP is out now on Double Standard Records.