From Texas, Diego Chavez has produced an album full of beauty and warmth, being compared to producers such as Prefuse73, Flying Lotus, and Dabrye. It is so easy to make these comparisons, but they only act as a sign post, as Artifacts stands on its own, with its own charm and originality, in no way is this an album by a copyist.
Inventive beats sit atop warm melodies, baked by the Texan sun, ghostly female voices occasionally seep through, lulling the listener into a state of calmness… The low-slung beats of Forgive Me and Dame Un portray warm organic electronic sounds, while Dejame Dormir and To Her step up the urgency, but retain what seems to be his organic sound trademark. Milla Ann is a summer breeze of skittering percussive electronica. The Aether remix of an Eleven Eleven track is included also, sounding not dissimilar to one of Prefuse73’s finer moments. Aether has a talent for writing many different styles, from downtempo, rock, hip-hop, to electronica and even experimental music, showing diversity is his key to success.
Exponential surprise with this new release, fantastic stuff.
Wayne Stronell
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