"YS and Pace Yourself make a striking debut impression with 'Music Angel', paving the way for a lot more artistic wizardry to come"
Were you ever really here? After all, it’s fairly likely that ‘life’ is just a computer simulation of sorts. Some people plug in wistfully and go through the motions on a daily basis, whilst others choose to search for meaning through emotion and sentimental consciousness. Two characters that traverse the ambiguous planes occupied by those who dare to live emphatically are the duo that combine to form YS. One based in Berlin and the other as far away as Singapore, the pair have been cooking up tracks for the last few years in a disjointed yet slowly productive manner.
In 2015 they created the clandestine Potatoheadz label alongside the artist Sedgwick, running it with a maturity and unnerving proficiency that combined to afford its first 12” release a stellar reception, with all 4 tracks of the Various Artists release (including one by YS) emitting varied, potent flavours to be reckoned with. The innovative label has also put out a couple of cassettes and a compilation CD, including an oddball piece by Bruce Roach. As their mantra suggests, you will be guided by pure dreams.
In recent months, YS have been solidly crafting tracks in their isolated studios, culminating in being picked up by newly formed Berlin based label Pace Yourself. ‘Music Angel’ EP was whittled down from 15 to 4 tracks, brimming with funk, pace and love; a genre-deconstructing foray, teeming with unusual idiosyncrasies emblematic of the oncoming confusion and uncharted water that this urban epoch will bring.
Title track ‘Music Angel‘ blends classic ghetto house percussion with a punishingly dirty bassline and sensual vocal chops to create a raw and evocative electro entity. ‘Dreams We Share’ comes next, an eclectic and dubby piece that draws together disparate elements to create a poignant, dreamy ambience for the mind to float upon.
‘Touch’ heads up the B side, a track that fully utilises the ghetto house skeleton at a nosebleed BPM, but still manages to retain a requisite beauty reminiscent of some lauded Dance Mania bits. Finally, ‘The Future’ hits the emergency brake and brings the EP to a slower, but no less personal, close. The vast BPM change is an interesting ploy, but it pays dividends. The computer controlled vocals echo a mechanised message whilst the crisp percussion makes for a dancefloor-driven beast.
All in all, this extended player is a post-genre piece of quality workmanship, made even more impressive when remembering the long-distance nature of its concoction. YS and Pace Yourself make a striking debut impression with ‘Music Angel‘ EP, paving the way for a lot more artistic wizardry to come.
‘Music Angel’ EP is scheduled for release 27 January in vinyl and digital formats. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
A1. Music Angel
A2. Dreams We Share
B1. Touch
B2. The Future
Discover more about YS and Pace Yourself on Inverted Audio.