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August 10, 2018 - Lost Palms
“Be like water,” people say. Water is a curious thing to try to be. It exists in several states. It takes on the shape of what is around it. It does it’s own thing while simultaneously being forced to bend to the will of stronger forces. Be Like Water is what Welsh producer Harrison BDP (Harrison Webber) has titled his latest foray on Shall Not Fade’s sister label, Lost Palms.
Webber embodies the sentiment of the project’s title through four congruent tracks each containing solids, liquids, and gasses exploring their way through time and space. ‘Brute’ opens things up with a sharp take on an acid-y house base. The track never fully commits to the past, keeping the listener behind a thick fog of delay and reverb, the effect of which is refreshing. The titular track ‘Be Like Water’ follows and immediately takes the mood down a few degrees. Atmospheric tonal drones and spacey staccato stabs float in and out of an almost gelatinous field of percussion and bass. It’s a groover with a positive outlook on life.
Track three, ‘Easy Does It,’ does not take its own advice, combining the energy from track one with the tonal space of track two. These styles combined with vocal samples and more than a handful of syrupy pluck synths make for a sometimes congested somewhat saturated listen; It never goes over the edge, but there is some push-pull going on. ‘Implosion,’ the final cut on the project, lowers the temperature further and takes the mood down a few notches for good measure. If this project were an evening out on a warm tropical beach, ‘Implosion’ would be the moment the last rays of light disappear behind the horizon leaving only cool sand and surf before the moon steps in to share some of its light. A single icy drip ripples throughout the track, providing stability and ground for the rest of the elements to exist around. Techno stabs and not-at-all cheesy synthesized chorus pads compete for focus with subtly effected percussion. The track is balanced, not too sweet, not too subtle, just the right amount of everything.
Shall Not Fade is a relatively new label and its sibling Lost Palms is even younger still, though the quality coming from both has been so consistent it’s easy to forget. Webber likewise is fairly fresh out in the music world. Be Like Water comes off an exploratory project, the artist feeling his way around the forms and shapes and states of electronic music, but always with a solid foundation anchored at the core. 🍍