Towards Green: Last Page EP
Buzzin' Fly
Towards Green's debut EP is a bit of an oddity within the Buzzin' Fly catalogue. Distancing itself from the fresh deep house stylings of the prototypical Buzzin' Fly release, Last Page inhabits a dramatically different neck o' the woods, suggesting perhaps a desire on the label's part to expand its stylistic range (one should be careful about reading too much into the move, though, as it might be purely a one-off). The EP includes in-studio and live versions of one of the two originals, and sweetens the deal with a remix by Arkist (Bristol-based Adam Gazla).
There's somewhat of a laid-back Afrobeat-slash-post-rock feel to the first original, “Last Page,” which layers languid electric guitar shadings over an animated base of acoustic-electronic percussion and warm sub-bass. Rich in detail, the three-minute song exudes a soothing and inviting character, despite its relative brevity, that returns at EP's end when Towards Green (real name Anatol Rivero Brito, who calls the Canary Island Tenerife home) offers an even more natural (and slightly trippier) sounding live rendition with his trio. Despite the bite of its acoustic bass groan, “Keep Your Eyes Closed” initially situates the Towards Green sound within a more purely electronic zone, given the presence of shredded vocal effects and electronic percussion patterns, before nudging it back towards acoustic territory with the addition of electric piano textures and melodica-styled shimmerings. Not to take anything away from the EP's originals, but it's Arkist's deep house-styled makeover of “Keep Your Eyes Closed” that stands out most in this crowd, especially when Gazla anchors the original's textural elements with a sweetly grooving pulse that's as dynamic as it is irresistible. When the already delicious bass kicks in even more aggressively at the four-minute mark, you'll wish the tune would never end.May 2012