Thomas Xu - Places In Time

Steady Flight Circle - EP
US, 2020
Future Jazz / House / Experimental 

Esoteric house & future jazz from 2020's Detroit. Not gonna list all the influences one can hear on that record, but it sure is an original blend of Sound Signature, Burrell Brothers and Larry Heard's sounds.

It's quite puzzling to see how badly connoted house is these days: endless tiktoks of Dubai bros dropping the silliest deep and tech house tunes, wearing stupid Happy-era Pharrel William's hats and John Lennon's sunglasses. As much as I enjoy watching these videos, or say Folamour's ridiculous vlog, I can't help but feel a sense of dread; like most people my age who forged themselves a music reaction to their parents & teachers, house & techno meant a world to me growing up, something that my elders wouldn't understand at all, and it was still the epitome of an underground culture, on a symbolic level, at least ( it was already a mainstream phenomenon when I discovered Jeff Mills & Moodymann in the mid 2000's but Dj Sprinkles had not released Midtown City Blues yet).

So, hearing a recent house 12" that sounds like it was recorded the year it was actually recorded (unlike most recent house music that sounds like it could have been recorded in 1999) is reassuring, even if it refers heavily a long-gone house golden age. Obviously if it dates from 2020, it's not going to be straightforward house. Promise2, my favourite tune is barely house at all. It's weird, dubious but it deserves some love. (VG+ / VG+)

Tracklist

1. Going Public
2. Easin
3. Tireda Being Tired (What Are We Here For)
4. Promise2
5. Let's Go See Roy