Anthony Naples - Fog FM

June 14, 2019 - Incienso/ANS

“I want to do that,” I said to myself. 

I still say that to myself. 

Every day. 

I first became aware of Anthony Naples’s presence on this planet in 2016 when he and Four Tet played the infamous 714 Club in Philadelphia. The audio that evening was terribly overblown; the most subtle and melodic of Four Tet’s repertoire was lost in the noise, but the feelings were there and they were right. There hasn’t been an especially compelling reason to have kept up with the New York-raised, world-traveling Naples since then, but nevertheless he’s popped back on the radar with Fog FM, arguably his largest project to date. 

This project is a little daunting, clocking in with over an hour of music material. It begins. It’s minimal. It’s very minimal, micro even. This project here is not the easiest thing to get into right off the bat, and I love minimal/micro. ‘A.I.R.’ and the titular ‘Fog FM’ pass, and I’m apprehensive. Not to fear, though. ‘Purple Iris’ comes next and something clicks. I click. This is working. For me, music in this miniature vein works on many levels. Left quiet and in the background, it is great music to be productive with. Turn the volume up and put it in a moist, dark club, and you’ve got yourself a non-productive but seriously great party. 

There are strong moments of self-awareness that dot this project. The end quarter of ‘Benefit,’ draws the listener into the lost years of elevator music and muzak-filled department stores. You can feel the tongue pushing against the cheek. This moment is immediately followed by a spot of clarity in ‘Channel 2,’ one of a handful of beat-less melodic meadow rests. Then it’s ruined by a too-quick-mustn’t-known-where-to-go-with-it fade away that really has no excuse. Didn’t work, the fade away didn’t work. 

It’s alright though, the mood is not broken. ‘Lucy’s’ plops the listener right back wherever they want to be. It fades away too. It didn’t work here either. ‘Unhygenix’ follows and doesn’t fade away. Not fading away is the better choice. ‘Channel 3’ follows its brethren ‘Channel 2’’s path of beat-less wandering, a bit more lightly and a bit more mysteriously. The last two cuts on the project, ‘I’ll Follow You’ and ‘Aftermath AM’ come through with a bit more direction and direct emotion than a lot of what follows. The percussion takes a rest, sitting behind meatier plucked synths and tonal drones. These tracks paint a more melancholy picture that floats over the rest of Fog FM much like a blanket of water droplets suspended in air. 

I don’t often make direct comparisons between artists’ work, but Anthony Naple’s Fog FM sounds, feels, and tastes like fellow NYC producer RJ Valeo aka Isomer Transition. I’ve spent many years traveling through space with Isomer Transition’s narrative-driven space odysseys, and it is nice to make the connection through the audio. Fog FM has successfully pulled Anthony Naples from my memory and planted him firmly in the present, and I am looking forward to that new reality.🍍