Elliot Adamson - Self (Entitled)

June 11, 2018 - Me Me Me

Elliot Adamson is back for a second solo release on Man Power’s Me Me Me imprint. He is back, and he is stretching and flexing his production muscles and ligaments. He is back, and he has brought an expansive project that spans over an hour of playtime. Self (Entitled) is a wonderful blend, combining many single malts together to form a delicate, sharp, complex flavor profile. 

The project opens with ‘fROAJA,’ a track in two parts. Part one is a fairly minimal tribal/tropical exploration sifted through heavy delay filters and tasteful clicks and chirps. The track’s rolling percussion keeps the train moving along at a steady pace, and it feels like the beginning of the journey. Part two opens with a similar-though-muted energy, emphasizing the breathy vocal chops and pseudo Asian strings. The mood then takes a blue-green paradise grotto plunge as Adamson turns the delay up to “syrupy” and throws in an absolutely infectiously groovy beat for good measure. It’s a soft, sticky track so thick it almost smells good. 

The next cut, ‘Ruben,’ removes the underbrush to reveal a tech-y minimal pluck fest. If it were a Reuben sandwich, it would have to be flash-frozen à la Dippin’ Dots; tiny granular bits of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, sweet Russian dressing all floating about between two large slices of marbled rye. ‘Ruben’ gives way to ‘No Chill,’ a track with a similar deconstructed feeling. Vocal samples are played like castanets as tension is built up and released in waves. The mood darkens and vocals become more concentrated as a muted, thumping bass line reminiscent of Adamson’s 2017 track ‘6pm in Newcastle’ slips its way in.

‘All The Time I Think Of You’ comes next in line. It is an energetic, slightly jacking track with a main vocal sample that doubles as the title, but not much else. After this comes ‘No Rest (for the Wicked) (feat Marske).’ It is a soft-yet-hard thoughtful dance cut with a solid percussion line underneath wavy melodic riffs that float ethereally in and out. Through it all, spoken word lyrics, presumably from unknown entity Marske, dot the landscape, further pushing the mood. 

The next track ‘For Club Play and Home Listening Only and No Online Shares’ is crossed out on the album cover and is one of those promo-only-probably-physical-only tracks that, as the title suggests, shan’t be bought or shared online (it is even requested that online mixes that include the track leave it unlisted). It’s a powerful sample laden dance-inducing secret track featuring a Moodymann monologue and Adamson’s production chops throughout. 

At this point the project opens up to remixes, starting with a workman mix of ‘No Rest (for the Wicked) (feat Marske)’ by London-born Berlin-based Spencer Parker. It’s a more direct, arpeggiated take on the original, forgoing the spoken word for a driving kick, intense hi-hats, and a thoughtful repetitious melodic ladder. NYCish based Mike Simonetti a.k.a. Pale Blue takes the second swing at ‘No Rest (for the Wicked)’ with a similarly sparse treatment. The Pale Blue Remix keeps the spoken word, draping it amongst a hard heavy-hitting house beat that slowly progresses into a strobe light echo-y dance hall minimal banger.

Former Adamson flatmate and new coming producer Ben Caldwell is next in line with his take on ‘All The Time I Think Of You.’ Though equally glitchy, it’s a 180° vibe shift, diving the track underwater in an exploration submarine. It’s an effective treatment of the original that retains just enough of the core elements with more than just a fresh coat of paint on top; it’s got substance. 

The final remix and final track on the project is a Bastard in Space mix of ‘No Chill.’ Sources say that Bastard in Space is a moniker of Adamson himself, and we believe any and all sources, so it must be true. This revisioning of ‘No Chill’ is a blunt smack in the face, digitally stretched out like taffy, hardened, then melted and stretched all over again.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Elliot Adamson is a quality Content Creator and a wonderful Taste Maker. His name continues to pop up more and more often in association with both his own and other’s work as his influence grows. Things are happening, and this is exciting. 🍍

Self (Entitled), an album by Elliot Adamson on Spotify