Gulls: Boom Miami EP
Boomarm Nation

Boom Miami, the second chapter in Gulls' twelve-inch series, matches the high standard set by the late-2010 Mean Sound outing. The new release serves up three ravishing electro-dub workouts by Boom Nation founder Jesse Munro Johnson of Portland, Oregon supplemented by a contribution from guest remixer Mike M. (Reporter/PDX). The title cut rolls out a crisp dub-funk groove that's irresistible enough all by its lonesome, but Johnson adds to its allure by topping it with a bleepy, slightly Eastern-tinged motif that amplifies its trippiness. With no compromise to its entrancing melodic character, the track also receives a second treatment that's slightly richer in percussive flavour and overall atmosphere and carries a smattering of funky house in its step too. Blending a slower tempo with radiant synth smears, “Cesco Chavo” opts for a brand of electro-melancholy that's different from but no less satisfying than “Boom Miami.” In its own way, “Cesco Chavo” surreptitiously grows into a powerful dubwise stepper of cosmic fire that's especially dynamic during its second half, after which Mike M. caps the release with a tasty, slow-building remix of “Cesco Chavo” that expands step-by-step until it becomes a hypnotic exercise in strutting future-funk swing. Incredibly, the majority of the tracks were recorded live in one take, with Johnson using a twelve-channel mixer, sequencer, and assorted analog gear to produce them, and even more amazingly he built the tracks entirely from the ground up by sampling himself and arranging the various sounds (horns, synthesizers, strings, etc.) into a given track's final form. Would it be too soon to ask for installment three?

November 2011