Luminous Things, the latest release from South Carolina producer Kwala, real name Joshua Gasaway, is a diverse study of experimental electronic music. Kwala’s heavily sample based production style is strongly reminiscent of the LA beat scene, particularly artists on the Brainfeeder roster such as Teebs and Lapalux. Whilst hailing from the opposite coast of the United States, these influences do point to the broad and penetrating nature of electronic music, which Kwala manges to incorporate and make his own on the release.
The opening track, ‘Sail The Wooden Horse (feat. Roof Light)’ blends noticeable UK influences, such as chopped and pitch shifted vocal samples and a steady kick groove, with the textures indicative of the LA sound, creating a smooth yet diverse beat.
‘Lost Woods’ is a tightly sidechained track, the longest on the EP by over a minute, building up from the opening into a low and ethereal beat, reverbed vocal samples drop in and out, with deep bloops and claps breaking through the grainy synth progression.
‘Yesteryear’ acts as a refrain from the EP itself, a one and half minute beat-less swirl of synths, bass, washed out grain and short delayed vocal stabs. It acts best among the track listing as a highlight of the overwhelming use of texture within Kwala’s production, with the absence of a steady rhythm allowing the ambient backbone to surface and be appreciated.
The majority of tracks sit around the two-minute mark, often a hint to the standard and repetitive nature of many producers, something, however, that Kwala seems to rise above as Luminous Things progresses. His songs develop both individually, and to a larger extent as elements of the EP as a whole. Each tune is different from the one before it, with its own interesting and peculiar elements, a key factor that makes Luminous Things an appealing EP for both the beat enthusiast and fans of more extended and intricate electronic music forms.
Joshua Millar
