Blackboxx: Parisian Windows
Slime Recordings
As Niall MacDonald's first recordings under the Blackboxx alias only appeared five years ago, the Scotland-born and now London, UK-based producer is in the early stage of his music career. Yet in that time, his sound has undergone a distinct evolution, from the UK Garage-influenced character of his early releases to the polished suite featured on his debut full-length Parisian Windows. Releases on Slime, Finest Ego, and Fokuz Recordings laid the groundwork for the nuanced productions now presented on the nine-track set. That its title is accompanied in brackets by “A Dream Sequence” tells you something about the character of the thirty-one-minute release.
Echoes of MacDonald's early interest in hip-hop are present in the new material's beat patterns, but the style of Parisian Windows generally invites the chillhop label, especially when the tone is more contemplative and introspective than festive. There are moments where commonalities between Blackboxx and Slow Dancing Society surface, given both producers' affinity for lushly textured soundscapes featuring electric guitar, but MacDonald's project ultimately individuates itself for being more beat-driven and funkier.
“Translating Silence” sets the tone with a sultry chillhop exercise whose entrancing effect crystallizes from a smooth integration of electric guitar, piano, synthesizers, electronics, and hushed vocal textures. MacDonald's choice of samples is at times striking, with the suitably melancholy “Looks Like She's Never Coming Back” seemingly weaving snippets of pipa into its arrangement. Elsewhere, flute and acoustic guitar figure prominently alongside an insistent breakbeat in “Olympian Press,” and a throbbing dub bass separates “25.5.19” from the others. Parisian Windows gravitates closest to conventional songwriting in “Lyova Dear” when the track adds lyrics and a hushed vocal performance by Lylli to its pulsating panorama. “Suuji” ends the release on a funky note by merging arresting voice cut-ups with a downtempo pulse and reverberant guitar figures.
Listening to Parisian Windows is a calming and restorative experience as opposed to anxiety-inducing. An interesting tension develops throughout between the forcefulness of the rhythm dimension and the sense of melancholy and longing permeating the material. The impression forms of a recording infused by the sadness of the current era, wistful for the return of carefree earlier days, and tentatively hopeful for what's ahead. If it isn't necessarily groundbreaking, it's definitely beguiling as well as a sophisticated statement that speaks strongly on behalf of its producer.October 2021