Afriqua - Slap EP

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  • Afriqua's tracks bear the mark of a classically trained musician. If you didn't already know that the 22-year-old spent years at art schools studying piano and music production, it would be logical to guess that he's had some musical education, based on his tendency to embellish house tracks with jazzy flourishes and improvised piano parts. His most recent effort, the Slap EP, favors carefully-sculpted deep vibes over club functionality, and three of the tracks—"Sexism," "Slap" and "Segment"—contain traces of Afriqua's prowess on piano. EP opener "Sexism" features intermittent episodes of swirling keys set over fluttering synths, a slightly elastic kick drum and rumbling sub-bass tones, as if he created the framework for a solid house track and improvised over the top. On "Slap," he eschews ad-libbed piano parts for regular intervals of flickering chords that color the spaces between waves of low-end, slinky hi-hats and a breathy vocal. "Segment" is more of a piano piece than anything else, as Parker's melancholic keys are the centerpiece of an otherwise ambient track decorated with bits of shifting noise and field recordings. That leaves "Pastage" as the one piano-free track, where he wraps an acid-tinged bassline around an irregular kick drum and dub bass tones. His tunes all feel finely wrought, sophisticated and stoney, and they're unlikely to inspire much movement beyond foot-tapping or head-nodding. This isn't a problem, per se, as Afriqua's emphasis on pretty sounds over dance floor functionality makes for beautiful tracks, but his talents may suit a beat that packs a little more punch.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Sexism A2 Pastage B1 Slap B2 Segment
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