Andy Vaz: I'm Not From Detroit
Chiwax

Andy Vaz's second release for Chiwax (the first 2012's Imaginary Beings) adds a rather experimental flavour to the Yore mainman's work without lessening any of its swing. Specifically, voice samples figure prominently in the material and arguably to a larger degree than is customary for Vaz. Sporting an odd disclaimer-like title, the A-side's “I'm Not From Detroit” eases into position with grooving kick drums, burbling basslines, and synth flourishes before the first of three voice samples (male and female) appears (“Don't tell me he's from Detroit”). With the track building in complexity, Vaz playfully chops the line into fragments whilst adding a garbled second one and a clearer third (“They don't need to know that”), all of which results in a dizzying swirl that ends sooner than one would like.

The first of two B-side cuts, “Alternative States of Insanity” picks up where “I'm Not From Detroit” leaves off with a similar kind of BPM and relaxed flow, but quickly changes things up by adding a funk guitar riff and trippy, pitch-shifting synth chords. Putting further distance between the tracks, Vaz gives the vocal-free “Alternative States of Insanity” generous injections of liquid acid to take the insanity theme to its natural extreme. But the release's boldest track is its closer, “Deutz Motorcity (From the D),” whose opening minute includes a looped “From the D, baby” line (directly referencing the Detroit theme) followed by an extended German voice sequence (presumably celebrating the Deutz Motor in particular and German craftsmanship in general). Pulling back from this experimental intro, Vaz reinstates the acid-house vibe one final time, with the “From the D, baby” accompanied by ever-gurgling acid patterns. Listeners familiar with Vaz's discography might connect the dots between the new release and one such as People Inside/-Outside (Persistencebit, 2005), which likewise involves threading voice samples into its tracks' compositional design.

August-September 2013