Alland Byallo: Tried & True EP
Nightlight Music

Nightlight Music owner Alland Byallo steps out with the two titular cuts and invites remix guests Berliner-by-Detroit's Lee Curtiss, San Francisco's Jason Short, and Iowa native Kenneth Scott along for the ride (Belgian minimalist nutownproject climbs aboard for a Beatport exclusive). Byallo's opening slab of slinky tech-house minimalism, “Tried,” oozes Minus character when starburst splashes cross paths with woozy synth sprites over a rumbling, clockwork groove, while “True” drapes reverberant, dive-bombing synth flourishes over a wiry funk pulse. The guests stay true to Byallo's minimalist vision yet still leave their own fingerprints on the material: Curtiss strips “True” to its skanky house essence, while Scott tightens the grip and scatters clanging percussive synth-funk across the tune's owly house groove; on the “Tried” makeovers, Short cranks up the original's jittery and squiggly character while nutownproject dresses the track up in a swinging, bass-heavy strut.

January 2008