Philadelphia producer King Britt has dusted off his analogue machinery for 3-tracks of sci-fi indebted synth work.
Britt has tried on a few names in his time (seems a shame when the one on your birth certificate is so brilliant): his production career was inaugurated in 1990 with a release on Strictly Rhythm under the name E-Culture, in collaboration with Josh Wink. Then there’s Sylk 130, which mines the rich vein of Philly funk and soul; Firefly, whose 1994 single ‘Supernatural’ on Ovum Recordings was a hit with the rave scene in the UK; and a rash of other aliases including Scuba and Oba Funke. That’s not to mention the steady stream of releases under his own name, including a single for Planet E last year.
Fhloston Paradigm is a relatively recent invention – this release sees Britt construct loose, hypnotic beat-textures using analogue machinery. The EP is a curveball from Hyperdub (as if we’re surprised by curveballs from them any more), but there are definite points of convergence with the current UK vogue for analogue house. Britt has described past work under the Fhloston Paradigm moniker as a “dedication” to Blade Runner, Fifth Element and Rollerball – “what would I do, if I scored them” – and there are certainly shades of the pulpy sci-fi soundtracks of yesteryear in these tracks.
The curious can download a free Fhloston Paragidm EP from last year here. The King Britt presents Fhloston Paradigm EP is out on Hyperdub on March 26.