Haruka Salt & Tongji – Everything We Love Will Fade In Time [Toucan Sounds]

Everything We Love Will Fade In Time
toucan sounds (est. 2018) has got a good thing going on. From the lovely lived in oasis of their YouTooCanWoo studio located on a sleepy street in North Brooklyn opposite an elementary school, French Horn Rebellion’s house of groove has built quite the family of regular contributors over the last few years. Frequent toucan collaborators include local favorite Toribio of Conclave fame, NYC house torchbearers musclecars who made their incredible production debut on the label, and Japanese DJ/producer Haruka Salt who will be making her sophomore release with the label on June 4th’s Everything We Love Will Fade In Time produced in collaboration with the fantastic W. Y. Huang under his Tongji moniker.

A seasoned DJ and longtime fixture of New York City lineups since 2006, Haruka’s recently minted house/disco focused Haruka Salt moniker came out the gate swinging with last year’s fantastic HarukaMart EP on toucan featuring inspired collaborations and remixes from Fat Tony, W. Y. Huang, Toribio, Felipe Gordon, and the great AceMo. She’s obviously got a gift for collaboration, bringing countless disparate folks into her fold with grace, yet still her and Tongji’s work on Everything We Love Will Fade In Time may be her strongest and most natural pairing yet.

Fresh off two fantastic experimental, R&B-influenced releases under the name W. Y. Huang for True Panther Sounds affiliated imprint TWIN, the Singaporean producer makes an exciting turn towards the Brooklyn underground with his techno/trance moniker Tongji. Perhaps the most forwardly techno-oriented release from the label yet, Everything We Love Will Fade In Time finds Haruka balancing eery yet playful synth menace and touches of electro, jack, breakbeats, dub, and bassy low end with joy. Opener “Never Satisfaction” and its subsequent true-to-form Dub Mix provide a propulsive drum workout with a unique submerged mix bouncing from submarine warfare techno to jacky hip-hop-esque sub-bass interjections beautifully. Visions of Pikmin float through my head listening to “Scrabble;” a dubbed-out drum track full of wonky bliss, lovely piano chords, and satisfying hand percussion that brings to mind the master Maurice Fulton and Ewoks raving on Endor.

Bolting Bits is pleased to premiere the title cut “Everything We Love Will Fade In Time” — Haruka and Tongji’s emotional third act via a propulsive, consistent kick, carefully mixed breakbeat swell, and synth melodies that recall Damon Albarn’s stand out late 2000s production for Amadou & Mariam’s “Sabali” and Gorillaz’s “Up On Melancholy Hill.” A cool glimpse at catharsis, lost in the groove the two have woven so well.

Pre-order.

Nick Boyd