March 12, 2021 - Shall Not Fade
Riccardo Paffetti is back on Shall Not Fade with another EP under his Black Loops moniker. The Berlin-based Italian producer has kept busy the past year, releasing several singles and projects and playing a wonderful solo set in the jealousy-inducing vineyards of Arezzo, Tuscany. Circulation EP continues this line of work with a solid collection of deep sunset dance tracks.
Paffetti kicks things off with sharp percussion and playful rhythm breaks. ‘Mike The Dog’ centers around a dialed-in groove that’s danceable but moderately introspective; the elements feel autonomous, with rhythmic directions branching off from the norm and melodic lines coming and going as they please. Very much like an expanded view of the human body, each element has its own space to occupy but the culmination of the parts makes a greater whole. ‘Circulation’ continues down the same path, with darker chords set against a more energetic percussion section. Vocal samples bounce around the room as the energy continues to rise; the BPM almost pushes the track into a feeling of panic but the chilled out bassline keeps things in check.
‘Banana 20’ takes the party outside, with digitized bird noise and nature sounds playing around some more hand-struck-sounding drums. Paffetti shows great mastery of silence in these tracks, with brief moments of respite leading to stronger transitions and hairs standing up on necks. The pieces build upon each other until a central chord progression takes stage; a simple but elegant equation.
The mood shifts dramatically on ‘Dream2gether,’ a more dissonant and darker opening. A voice says “dream together” and the rest of the track falls into place, with a chugging bassline keeping the pedal to the metal throughout. The piano/synth/sample line takes its own path part way through the track, stacking notes and chords together in a seemingly disjointed, pseudo-jazz style. It’s a high energy jaunt finely crafted for the dancefloors of the future. ‘Danse sur l’Hardcore’ takes the sentiment of dancefloors of the future and runs with it. Hopeful synth stabs replace the darker mood of ‘Dream2gether,’ complete with sparkling chimes and plenty of percussive ear candy. Paffetti lets the intensity build and drop like the tide, with complex polyrhythms dispersing into simple drum patterns and interlacing again with the bio-electric-sounding synth plucks that make up the melody.
Paffetti continues to build upon a strong foundation of dance sensibilities, providing the raw ingredients and plenty of guidance to craft the ideal interpersonal dance experience. We look forward to those experiences and are thankful for projects like this to tide us over. 🍍