- Back in 2010 when Fred P's Soul People Music released its first Earth Tones various artists EP, RA's Todd L. Burns remarked that the EP's surprising highlight was its appearance from an unknown rather than the heavy hitters. The third issue plays the same switch-up. Though there's an appearance from Fred P here, "Hypnothesis" is difficult and quiet even by his standards: a kick drum buried so deep you can only feel its faint imprint, obscured vocals and a jarringly bright synth sample give off the impression of a track that can barely hold itself together. It's hard to imagine it doing anything other than confusing a dance floor.
The highlight this time comes from Leonid Nevermind, whose "Use the Moon" coasts on florid breezes of strings that feel like they'd burn holes through the usual curtain-drawn deep house of Soul People, with a knotted boogie bassline keeping things from floating away. Relative unknown Naoki Shinohara's "Statics" is highly cerebral, a makeshift beat that breaks off the usual Soul People styles into large, uneven chunks. The submerged pieces are held in place by a ticking hi-hat so that the whole thing feels like patchwork clockwork. Finally, Levon Vincent favourite Joey Anderson's "Track 3" is spongiform dub techno, wobbling and jiggling around a suspended beat that seems afraid to drop into a straightforward four-to-the-floor pattern. The Earth Tones series, with its third volume, is a typically humble affair that shows that Fred P's talents extend to A&R as well.
TracklistA1 Leonid Nevermind - Use the Moon
A2 Naoki Shinohara - Statics
B1 Joey Anderson - Track 3
B2 Fred P - Hypnothesis