Nationally adored Australian dance music producer Cassettes For Kids (Zak Degenhardt) has delivered his most thorough body of work to date, releasing EP Turpins Falls via Gallery Recs. Alongside the news, he’s announced he’ll be bringing the EP to life right across Australia and New Zealand throughout the next few months.Turpins Falls is a vast array of moods that ebbs and flows in energy, texture, power and emotion, wrapped in an archetypal, Cassettes For Kids glaze of hardware driven house music. Every track has its own unique deeply human feel and bounce, as evocative synths, swinging bass lines and driving, varied percussion layers fall effortlessly together, giving audiences an intimate insight into the mind of one of Australia’s most talented and prolific producers.
“As much as I wish this didn’t have as much to do with the pandemic, so much of this was written during this period of my life and since then, I haven’t made anything like the tracks on this EP,” Cassettes For Kids stated.
“This all made sense at the time. Tones and textures that all clicked then have ceased to happen again, yet I’m as proud as ever to have written as honest of a reflection of the frustration and lack of mental respite that I couldn’t otherwise express, documented over these five tracks.”
Opening with I Was So, the atmospheric peak of the record. A track that boasts production prowess and confidence, it sees Zak lean heavily into groove and swing heavy house music for the first time. As I Was So closes with unadulterated bounce the title track arrives, Turpins Falls. Written while reflecting on a deeply intimate personal moment, the universal feeling of being blown away by context and the environment’s intrinsic relationship to infatuation and love. As Zak reflected on the environmental awe of Turpins Falls in Kyneton, Victoria Turpins Falls featuring Nyla Hunter was born.
Next are the unquestionable floor fillers. Already garnering support from names such as DJ Boring, DJ Seinflied, Haai, Tranquil evokes the nostalgic elements we’ve all come to know and love from the power of a dance floor, with its late landing bounce providing a deeply human feel. It’s quickly followed by the magical, undisputed and tested dance inducing Heard This Calling, a vocal driven fast house track that has taken clubs by storm over the past few months. Rounding things out is Losing Balance. Leaning heavier into the proggier side of production the track is minimal and efficient in its purpose, one that balances a rampant bass line with intricately tapped and curated melodic elements.
Cassettes For Kids will be bringing the EP to life across Australia and New Zealand throughout July, August and September before heading to Europe in October for his debut EU shows.
Out Now Via Gallery Recs
