#aiwo

We return again to the world of Lucas Croon, having visited his stellar Ascona 12” on Themes for Great Cities just a few weeks ago. For this new self-tilted EP, Lucas joins with Aiwo Records and just as on Ascona, Stabil Elite’s Timo Hein is along for the ride to help explore realms of pan-pipe balearica and spaced out downtempo. But unlike that release, which was more focused on cosmic disco, tropical house exotica, and kaleidoscopic dub, the Lucas Croon EP hews closer to that irresistible Aiwo soundworld of rave euphoria. Indeed, this newest set is comprised of 90s leaning chill-out bangers, especially the first three tracks, which all revel in bulbous basslines, aquamarine synth hazes, acid flashes, dub echo panoramas, woodwind percolations, and low slung rhythms that morph effortlessly between ambient house zone outs and seaside breakbeat jams. Then in the final track, the mood darkens considerably as feverish chords and psychedelic synth liquids disorient the mind over a mutant club stomp.

Lucas Croon - Lucas Croon EP (Aiwo Records, 2019) In “Count Slow,” intergalactic squiggles and dusty reverb-soaked breaks ride a tubular sub-bass groove as sonic gurgles, sputters, and whip cracks fly through the air. The drums bounce through hyperspace echo chambers and their stoned swagger is accented by alien synth leads that dissolve into static. Dub chords ring out then are sucked backwards through a black hole…their white noise echo trails eternally hovering at the event horizon. Snares skitter and anxious hi-hats flit between single, double, and triple time patterns seemingly at random and at some point these lush phaser chords suffuse the air with cosmic magic while the mix is intercut with mystical eastern melodies…like some sort of futuristic Arabian string instrument weaving dreamspells that transports the body and spirit to a night-shrouded desert paradise. It’s all so perfect, especially as the drums take on an even more pronounced breakbeat energy…the boom-bap snares cracking harder while dubwise echoes flash side-to-side and tambourines work the mind into hypnosis. And then, pushing things even further into some sort of 90s chill-out utopia, a chest caving sub-bass groove drops, all liquid physical euphoria and hands in the air magic with interstellar brass chords panning through the mix and resonant laser synths mimicking turntable scratching…the whole thing like riding on ecstasy waves over an infinite ocean of light.

Squelching and funky basslines lead “Spinal Chord,” their vocal grooves moving up and down with sexual energy as roto-toms, ring modulated percussive splatters, and kick drums work around hypnotic hi-hat and tambourine patterns. Futuristic pan-pipe synths play oceanic fairy melodies as we slam into a lush tropical house groove, with gliding four-four beats and smashing cymbals vibing out beneath fluttering woodwinds that color the sky in dayglo shades. Disco pianos are morphed through aquatic fx and searing synths soar through the sky…their tones three-dimensionally layered and helping the track evoke the mediterranean boogie of the West Hil/Periodic crew, specifically the work of Pàscal. Soon however, the beats start to vaporize and the mix is overwhelmed by quivering pads…as if the synths are on the verge of orgasm. Breathy flutes swim through submarine delay layers as a jaw dropping breakbeat fades into the mix, all crunchy downtempo perfection surrounded by sweltering 90s chord progressions. And that’s not all, for then comes a city leveling four-four beat and a bouncing acid bassline to underly the breakdance rhythm magic, with jacking kicks and smashing snares sitting beneath flutes that morph through infinite delay chains…their floating tones imitating seagulls as tambourines create golden currents of percussive sound.

“Grandprix Suzuka” is based around stuttering breakbeats and a deeply psychedelic noise pattern…like shakers beamed in from another dimension joining with thousands of fluttering insect wings. Dark entrancing chords descend through the mix and bend upwards at times with white light flashes as vibes of ritualistic prog merge with skanking sunshine dub. The drums are led by open hi-hat sizzles and hypnotic 16th note patterns and there’s a moment where gigantic reverse swelling cymbals disrupt the flow as the mix transitions into a shambolic rhythm storm with cascading congas and syncopated tom-tom cycles underlying a dance of angelic pads, ocean forest woodwinds, and tropical mallet instruments. It’s like the track has been reborn as a glorious jungle ceremony with shakers panning over fretless fusion bass slides while the spirit floats on etheric currents of new age and fourth world spirituality. Then the beats return, skipping as ever on sunbeams while congas and bongos create rhythmic dream tapestries until another massive cymbal swell introduces funeral organs and more of the slithering white noise psychedelia…as if we now find ourselves in a much older part of the aforementioned jungle where shadow energies hover in the obscured air. As the rhythms slam back in, cushiony basslines flow through the body and the filter occasionally opens up to reveal squelching fire beneath the dreamtime sway…the skipping percussive layers and panoramic beats gliding eternally as the organs progressively echomorph and reverb-scatter

Timo Hein joins Lucas on “Spiritus Sanctus,” contributing bass guitar and Korg PolySix. Maddening oscillations surround deep space filter hallucinations and industrial percussive cycles as a technoid sequence enters…a sort of dark kosmische incantation floating in the air until a towering beat enters with sizzling cymbal flashes. Crazed synth psychedelics backgrounds a mutant bass synth stomp and the kick is so deep as it suffocates the body with overwhelming air flows. Snares are transmuted into white noise splashes and extra-terrestrial shaker weirdness phases in and out the mix, the whole thing coming off like EBM for a dystopic futureworld. A disturbing voice sample enters and raises the hair on the back of the neck with its increasingly angered monologue, which then leads to a nightmarish passage of heatwave chords moving discontinuously…their melodies feverish and disorienting. Everything seems to phase, flange, and filter-morph constantly, creating an eternal cosmic motion beneath the low slung deep house sensuality. Rainbow gases swirl then convert into black mist while the body grooves through an evil dreamscape of dancefloor ecstasy, one where chaotic synth liquids wavering with a disturbing and unknowable intelligence. Towards the end, everything starts falling apart, the various elements melting back into the void from which they came as kick drums are time-morphed and pitch-modulated…each hit giving off a spray of outer-dimensional feedback that grows into chittering alien laughter.