textura

Albums
Leila Abdul-Rauf
James Blackshaw
David Borden
Build Buildings
bvdub
Corey Dargel
Tom Flaherty
Fogh Depot
Bjørn Fongaard
(ghost)
Nick Gill
Chihei Hatakeyama
High aura'd & Mike Shiflet
Map 165
Maranha & Espvall
Missy Mazzoli
Midaircondo
Jonas Munk
P-Ben
Pearson Sound
Michael Price
PRISM Quartet
Michael Robinson
Sankt Otten
SCNTST
The Sebastians
Sigtryggur Sigmarsson
Matteo Sommacal
Sphäre Sechs
To Destroy A City
Tudor Acid
Mark Vernon
Michael Vincent Waller
worriedaboutsatan

Compilations / Mixes
Supafunkanova Vol. 2

EPs / Cassettes / DVDs / Mini-Albums / Singles
Alex Agore
Ariadne
Aux Field
Disciples
Djrum
EZLV
Future Ghost
Jim Haynes
Mako
[MIIIIM]
Sacco / Lapiana
Scyye
SlowPitch
Marshall Watson

Marshall Watson: Vibration Attention
Loöq Records

After listening to the fifteen minutes of material on this two-track single, one can't help regret that Marshall Watson (aka Shane) isn't more prolific. Judging from the evidence at hand, the San Francisco Bay Area composer and electronic music-maker possesses a Midas Touch of sorts when it comes to marrying infectious dance floor elements and melodic dreampop. Currently the Music Director at Sirius Sound, Watson has released scores of music since 2003 on labels such as Highpoint LowLife, Car Crash Set, 442, Volkoren, Celsius, and most recently Loöq Records.

A chugging bass synth pulse lends “Love Me Back To” a dark allure, but it's hardly the only thing the track's got going for it. Frothy cymbal patterns and treated vocal accents bolster its funky feel, and the tune advances through a number of explorative twists and turns during its scenic ride. Though “Vibration Attention” begins more unassumingly with a restrained 4/4 pulse, it quickly swells into a trippy slice of euphoria that's as much trance as house. In the minutes that follow, Watson coyly slips in claps, off-beat hi-hats, and a melodic hook so sweet and entrancing it'll lodge itself into your cranium for days--a track tailor-made to leave both clubgoers and home listeners spellbound.

Watson's tracks could be slotted into different categories, be it emotive electronica or progressive house, but the best thing to do is simply listen rather than get hung up on genre labeling. Masterfully arranged, these tracks mezmerize as exercises in sensorial stimulation.

March 2015