It’s difficult to conceptualise electronic music production as involving the same type of graft as music which is made physically. The association between playing actual instruments and musical artisanry is firmly entrenched; less so with electronic musicians. All of this goes some way to explaining the joy and relief that greets electronic music that sounds “real’. It’s hard to say what does it – it could be seamless integration of live instrumentation or a warm and organic “feel’ throughout a piece of music. But hearing electronic music that reminds you it’s made by an actual person, for actual people, is always welcome.
This preamble was intended to make you understand how I listen to The Chairman’ album Economies. It is real, according to the haphazard definition above. More clearly than most electronic music I listen to, Economies is discernibly a product of graft. The nine songs that make up the Adelaide artist’s debut are sequenced in such a way as to reveal their construction; melody comes first, then the rhythm is laid down and the track proceeds from there. It means that Economies is not only a showcase of Bonobo and Venetian Snares-indebted electronica, but also that it functions as a crash course in production. The listener always understands where The Chairman is heading. That’s not to say it’s amateurish. I couldn’ replicate it. But it’s inclusive and welcoming where a lot of music of this ilk, especially as the BPM climbs, is not.
Economies is not a perfect album, and the discrepancies between the album’ best and weakest moments are perhaps what mark it as a first-time effort. Opener “Saccharacerbic’ and closest thing to single material “Hedging Your Bets’, are great; they work best where they are in the album and the former in particular is thrilling. Middle track “Mariachi Day’ starts with a nice idea and then devolves into a slightly aimless dirge that saps some of the enthusiasm the album has worked to build. But Economies hits a sweet spot that makes it rewarding for breakbeat junkies and casual listeners. Considering that’s a skill that so many producers don’ consider at all worthwhile, The Chairman is to be congratulated. His hard work has paid off.
Economies is available to download from The Chairman’s website.
Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo
