[gtranslate]
Music

Get your TARDIS ready, Phondupe goes deep on Say To The Raker

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228114809″ params=”color=000000&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

One of my favourite things about the old Doctor Who episodes, and there are a lot of things, is the music. After all, it was a sci-fi show made in the 60s and as such the tunes were suitably spaced out. From the epic opening theme to the whimsical synth sounds that soundtracked those adventures in space and time, it was perfect and still holds up today. So if Steven Moffat ever decides to relieve himself of his absurd ‘The Doctor is going to die this season’ story lines and wants to inject some of that original wonder back into the show, then production duo Phondupe are the guys to deliver the radness.

Phondupe say to the raker

Producer wonder duo Phondupe reach new sonic heights with their latest Say To The Raker. Find bliss in this ecstasy of electronica.

Phondupe is the musical love child of Rich Lucano and Nathan Chan. The two producers are based in Sydney and London respectively, their tracks put together during late night video calls. That element definitely shows through in their material, not that it puts you to sleep! The smooth production and restless beats are akin to tossing and turning on a clear, starry night. Think Son Lux melting with the sounds of Nicholas Jaar.

The duo have already released one EP, Greenhouse, to the applause of plenty of frothing critics. Now after spending some time hunting for inspiration in New York and Havana, the boys are ready to launch their next sonic project, The Ecstasy Of series. Starting this November, Phondupe will drop a new single every month until February 2016.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228114809″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Speaking of the single series, Lucano says the music is a maturation of Phondupe’s sound following his experiences in the city that never sleeps. “I’d take myself to the most chaotic parts of the city, throw on headphones and play ambient electronic music; Boards Of Canada in Times Square, Ryuichi Sakamoto in Chinatown, Triosk at the Myrtle/Broadway stop… The contrast would create this vortex, like you were floating above the crowd. You’re in the middle of a shitshow, but completely at peace. We’re trying to recreate that portal.

The first of these singles is Say To The Raker, a moody track that glides effortlessly over a chorus of subdued beats and samples. Even though this is a pretty Zen piece of music, Say To The Raker captures that restless vibe Lucano mentioned he was trying to capture in NYC. His vocals are under a nuanced duress as the bass line pulses behind him. The production quality to the track is second to none, and provides Say To The Raker with a spacious quality that you can lose yourself in. In that respect it’s on par with anything Air has ever done.

Too much of a big call? I don’t think so, and with this first single so tantalisingly delicious, the next course in The Ecstasy Of series will no doubt be met with drooling anticipation.