Available on: Merok EP

Upon first hearing Touched, the debut EP by Brooklyn based electronic duo Blondes, you may not be struck, won over, or convinced of greatness. That’s because Blondes deal in the art of toying with expectations. This might be hard to realise at first: there’s no truly difficult music at hand here, and it would be completely wrong to call Touched challenging. One could write it off as aimless, un-engaging, compositionally limited or even clichéd and unoriginal, and at first shot those claims might seem valid. Touched is one of those records that requires more than one listen to tune into.

Blondes have carved a smooth, almost invisible, crevice in the wall of pulsing electronic music that is entirely their own to inhabit. Instead of aspiring to make something “great”, these two talented musicians have given us something that “lives”. This EP, five tracks long, is fixed in a state of its own, creating its own organic expectations and its own listening experience. It’s possible that one really has to choose to get with or into Touched. What happens when you make that decision, and let this awkwardly familiar, seemingly ordinary sounding EP get into your juices?

Well, one thing that is perhaps obvious upon first hearing Touched is its slower than expected pace. The EP rolls at a 102–107 bpm range, slower than your average house track but quicker than your common hip-hop or rap joint, allowing the tracks to inhabit a beat-space directly between hip-hop’s bounce and the groove and repetition of house. The kicks on ‘Spanish Fly’, for instance, are structured in a fairly 4/4 house manner, with a  roll at the end of each bar giving the rhythm a less cyclical character more akin to hip-hop, and they plummet through the mix as hard and deep as any kicks from say, Polow da Don’s 808 emulation software. However, unlike many rap or house constructions, there’s a beautiful unsymmetrical quality to ‘Spanish Fly’, suggesting that this track is something that might just have come out of natural origin. Clouds of vintage synths seem to dance and meld with the vocal sample while thickened keys and deep percussion float beneath, always surfacing at the right time.

By creating more space between rhythmic pulses in their tracks, Blondes have in essence given the listener more time as well. You have more time to process their sound, and to contemplate the inherent qualities of the music; the pure essence of the drive and swell of dance music in slow motion high resolution. The implied dance-floor rhythm transfers from energy and constant movement into the state of contemplative retreat and introspect. As DJ Screw was able to transfer the violence of rap into a psychedelic gesture by slowing the tempo, Blondes have achieved similar results in transferring the physicality of dance music into a mental state. Rhythm becomes hypnosis rather than body jack.

‘Moondance’ is perfect example of how Blondes appropriate dance music to create something much more visual and engaging. The track builds steadily and smoothly from a spiny arpeggio that pulls the listener slowly into the track’s warm belly. Drums gradually materialize, along with a piano line sounding genetically similar to the keys of acid house days. Soon, sheets of synth are flying around the edges of that space provided by the slow, stomping kick drums. The listener is engulfed, but with texture rather than just rhythm. ‘Moondance’ seems to never let up though: like an epic film, there are parts where you might expect it to end but instead the track reinvents itself and proceeds onwards. Perhaps this track has no sections, rather sections of elements that overlap, collide and harmonize with each other at specific points.

It is also important to note that all tracks on this album are performed live in the studio and not composed in a box to later be rendered as audio. On most occasions this would be unimportant, but it is crucial in the unique character of sequencing, instrumentation, and limitation of elements (as true electronic performance does) that unquestionably help shape this record. Certain things must repeat, other things must be played by hand. The shadowy and elusive evidence of the hand on Touched is alone a blessing. Even the most machined, calculated, and closest to traditional dance music track here, ‘Paradise City’, is finessed with slight of hand.

Perhaps the most stunning example of Blondes’ musicianship is found on Touched’s last track, ‘Virgin Pacific’. There’s a distinct John Carpenter quality to its first half with depressed strings and caressing synths that hover above the desert plain of setting sun percussion. The build of the first half of the track is brooding, suggestive of a metamorphosis or mutation – another quality present in most of John Carpenter’s scores. Around the halfway point of the track the birth of something beautiful can be heard, peaking through the dark. This is where Blondes pronounce their musical agility to highest effect – the transition is sublime, albeit with a touch of bluntness. Then ‘Virgin Pacific’ completely turns around; to use a cheap metaphor, it’s like going from an impeding storm to a mountaintop sunrise. Needless to say, Touched’s ending is a glorious one.

Touched will be there when it is needed. It will always open itself to the listener. Perhaps one of the best attributes of Blondes’ music is the freeness of intent. The tracks are undemanding of any particular reaction (you could do yoga to Touched, you could even play ice hockey with it beaming into your helmet), and the rhythm caresses your still body or encourages your woozy sway. Reacting in any of the listed ways would be considered appropriate and acceptable for the listening occasion. It’s great to say that music shouldn’t require a uniform response, but it’s even better to hear something that truly lives up to that mantra.

Chris Powers