King Britt in space – with the project Fhloston Paradigm, the house-producer is indulging in his love for science fiction and the respective musical vocabulary: Vangelis and John Carpenter are just two of the many references that he’s hinting at on »The Phoenix«. And still, it’s not just a nostalgic record of tribute. King Britt is combining sounds of analogue synthesizers from the 80s with much more recent beat structures, while using mostly bass-music and occasional touches of house. There is a lot of potential in this approach, and yet the individual elements are not quite able to meet on »The Phoenix«: Some tracks meander along indecisively, while others, like the vocal-track »Tension Remains«, are more like a – somewhat questionable – space opera. However, with the beginning of the title track, the record really gets into its stride – 9 minutes of a nervously thumping beat, dub-echoes and a synth-arpeggio that’s running back and forth, always appearing in a different light; and almost making us forget the record’s unfavorable moments. All in all, King Britt doesn’t quite seem to know where he’s heading with Fhloston Paradigm, yet. Let’s just say that he should desist from any more futuristic ballads.
Various Artists
John Gómez & Nick the Record present »Tangent«
Mr Bongo