Fred P - Modern Architect

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  • Fred Peterkin has been releasing records under an array of aliases for nearly a decade now, but in 2015 the New York native shifted into a higher gear of creative output. This year, he's released EPs from his two main projects, Fred P and Black Jazz Consortium, as well as efforts from newer projects (Anomaly and FP197) and a number of remixes (usually appearing under the title of "Fred P Reshape"). The crown jewel of Peterkin's prolific 2015 was FP-Oner's hypnotic 5 LP for Mule Musiq. Clearly already one of the hardest working names in dance music, Peterkin has found time to squeeze in one last release before year end. Said to be the first installment in a new series, Modern Architect collects six Fred P tracks that have been "featured prominently" in his DJ sets but, for one reason or another, hadn't yet been released. As a result, the record lacks Peterkin's experimental tendencies, and instead finds him focusing on the deep-burrowing, soulful club music he's best known for. Though "Tokyo To Chiba" builds slowly, waiting almost halfway through to place an up-swung hat between its steady kicks, the nine-minute opener sets the tone. Thick rhythm and bass patterns are joined by atmospheric piano, before dense droning chords, wordless vocals and layer upon layer of intricate hand percussion form a dance floor meditation as jazzy as it is emotive. Peterkin only goes deeper from there. "Sybian" is seven minutes of space-age atmospherics behind stuttering chords and heavy, rolling rhythms. "Don't Be Afraid" has masterful arrangements of shuffling percussion, moody chords, soul-burnt melodies and female vocals from Minako. Peterkin's arrangement here is again confidently patient: it's six minutes until the track launches into full charge. Closing Modern Architect is "Down Under," a track which, perhaps more than any Peterkin production released this year, makes the most with the least. On top of its solid rhythmic base, the tune builds an intoxicating momentum with no more than a filtered sample of cascading chords, a tom-like bassline and a string of open hi-hats. It's the collection's most versatile DJ tool, and shows that being an effective craftsman of modern club music doesn't always need elaborate structures.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Tokyo To Chiba B1 Sybian B2 Dub In The Sky C1 Don't Be Afraid feat. Minako D1 Memory P D2 Down Under
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