- Shegeru Tanabu and Brendon Moeller have worked together a number of times before coming together formally as Manaboo, with a single on Moeller's Steadfast label early this year. That was a dusty and laidback affair of lounge jazz pianos and disco guitars. Tanabu's solo "Adrian" last year was chordy and peak time, and Moeller is prone to washy synths. So what can we expect this time? Something different again.
This is exemplified best by "Delinquent," where analogue synth patterns bounce and wind their way around each other throughout the track, evolving subtly in the way Moeller is prone to, and in a deep purple nighttime mood reminiscent of Ellen Allien and Apparat's "Rotary." It's smoother than that track, but the fizzing, upfront sounds are brash when compared with much of Moeller's stuff, perhaps being more influenced by Tanabu in the sort of mood he might have been in when he wrote "Adrian." This heavy programming is set over a skipping two step beat, which is similar to but more frantic than the one that leads "SB Massive."
The SB stands, evidently, for "soundboy," and this is hazy dub straight from the slums of Kingston, dusty like their earlier single and with sandy washiness. So on the surface it seems that they're further towards where they're comfortable, but there's innovation in the track's proximity to original dub, with big, delay sounds attacking periodically in a King Tubby style. It's all a bit unexpected, and sometimes feels like they themselves are unsure of the territory, but overall these are pretty good tracks which you can sink into.
TracklistA Delinquent
B SB Massive