- I'm not sure what they're putting in the water in Leipzig, but judging by the sort of techno and house we hear wandering outside of its borders, they may want to test for psychedelic additives. Ron Deacon's music is by no means the most abstract dance music coming out of the city—it'd be tough to pin that reputation on anyone but Kassem Mosse—but he's got a certain Workshop-approved chilled-backness you're likely to recognize. Recording for Ilker "Philogresz" Soylu's Team Records, Deacon at once grabs hold of the thread of contemporary house music and loses it, turning in four extended jams of varying degrees of fogginess.
While perpetually in motion, Deacon doesn't seem all that interesting in going anywhere too quickly on the Flying High EP. Clocking in at nearly 11 minutes, opener "Happy People" shuffles out the gate well below 120 beats per minute; it's telling that the track's most tense moment comes when a disembodied sigh calmly signals the end of a quick breakdown. Divided more or less into thirds, the track moves, but it's never all that antsy to get on with it. "Flying High" has a bit more life in it, with playful synths that eventually knot themselves into a smiling breakdown. As if Deacon's formula had its lifeforce sucked out of it, "Communication" slinks along under a heavy cloud as two voices recount a story of uncertain meaning. Finding Deacon's sound at its most stoney, "The Message" would slot nicely on a Workshop release; he's produced for the label before, and if "The Message" is any indication, this won't be the last we see of him there.
Tracklist01. Happy People
02. Flying High
03. Communication
04. The Message