(Quick Take) Halftribe- Daydreams in Low Fidelity
Manchester’s Halftribe mines a ethereal techno vibe rife with tactile, dubby pops and clicks to lovely effect on his second full-length Daydreams in Low Fidelity, off ARCHIVES, run by Spanish producer Warmth. A label like ARCHIVES (who put out Purl’s fantastic Form is Emptiness last September), truly goes to show how much a good cover design/artwork/photograph can bolster my (or anyone else’s) interest in a release. In this case, the hazy, soft-color cover photo was taken by Brian Young, who works with custom filters to come up with a distinctive gazey visual feel. It’s definitely a far cry from some arty low-light club– this is headphone music meant for outside, walking around or sprawled out on the grass. Obscured-by-distance field recordings of kids at play and chirping birds are situated comfortably alongside masterful use of samples (see the title track for that, in particular) and glitchy micro-sounds. A real pleasure to take in– gentle but never lulling.
Conjoining Currents: Dub Techno, Dream Pop, Shoegaze
Label: ARCHIVES
Foreign Accents 