With his début album »Cape Cira«, British producer Josiah Gladwell aka K-Lone contributed a perfect record for the break the clubs were forced to take in 2020. Muted marimba sounds instead of hard beats, a slightly tropical and sultry atmosphere and everything is pretty quiet. Three years later, on his second album »Swells«, he doesn’t quite turn up the heat completely, but lets it be known that he wants to achieve something different with his music. He gently encourages the body to move, sometimes with nostalgic home-organ beats and longingly humming synthesizers (»Oddball«), sometimes with dub-grounded house. Or, as on »Strings«, he makes the strings of a guitar resonate while gazing at the shoes. A delicate R&B groove is added on »With U«, enhanced by the voice of Eliza Rose. All in all, there is a summery vibe that runs through the house genres this time as well, with the emphasis on »play«. The attitude and once again controlled pitch loosely but consistently bind the pieces together, as on the first album, even when he allows himself a moment of exhilarating, wistful deep house euphoria, as on »Gel«. The gentle anthem, with its looping chords and bouncing bass, blends in perfectly with the landscape.
Swells
