With a flurry of phrenetic synths and rapid fire rhythms, counsel pop makes a surprising debut on the electronic music scene with his EP, counsel pop presents.
Signed to Mat Zo’s label MAD ZOO, the UK native exported to Canada, has developed a craft of music that blends old, true-and-steadies, and mashes them with sleek, shining new sounds. This is not an easy feat to find the sweet spot between homeyness and stirring people on the dance floor, but counsel pop is able to do it through tender transitions, fluid escapes, and tenuous builds.
With lots of creepy vocal samples, swift snares, and thick layers of classic techno sounds, ‘hi there xx’ sets the scene. The mood of this track cleanses your musical palette for something quirky and weird but strangely nostalgic. Opening up with a crackly newscast about music from the streets corrupting youth, the wires are cut and the vanilla recording is distorted; counsel pop kicks it off with a showcase of his aesthetics and delves into a dirty house rhythm, ‘fazely industrial estate’. This synergistic flow feels right, but also startling when you realize how these tracks fit like perfect puzzle pieces. Enjoy the snug fit.
The third track off counsel pop’s first EP has a most interesting title: ‘in a mcdonald’s carpark’. This track starts up with a plucky bassline and adds in other elements like toppings on a sundae. The bass seems to not only be a foundation which counsel pop plops down other elements onto, but the melodic force throw this punchy, but aggressive instrumental. It captures the sentiment in counsel pop’s inspiration for this collection, “The music is inspired by trying to recreate that feeling of driving around in your mate’s car listening to the only dance CD they ever had.”
The final track on this freshman EP, ‘trino (counsel metal mix)’ is a lovely amalgamations of lazer beams, perfectly trill synths, and flowing ethereal breezes. Concocting a combination of throwback style that leaps forward into the limitlessness of digital music, it creates a sensation of comfort and remoteness. Its really an oddly classic electric sound that still feels fresh and fun.
Check them all out below.
