Stepping up for his fourth release on Heist, sample wizard Nebraska comes in with some lovely chops and a giant curveball of an A-side that has summer anthem written all over it. Dive into this massive four track EP by the London native who just keeps on bringing the goods!
The ‘Chant des Oiseaux EP’ is built around a collaboration between Nebraska and BeBelle. Anyone who’s picked up Nebraska’s 2021 release on his Friends & Relations label, will have already had a glimpse of what happens when these two get in the studio. They have a mutual love for French vocals; everything BeBelle says, whispers and chants just sounds syrupy sweet. This might be most evident on the title track where modulated Rhodes, the distant chirping and fluttering of birds, and a minimal beat form the foundation for BeBelle’s mesmerizing vocal. The dreamy and contemplative vibe makes you long for those endless days of summer.
The Detroit inspired ‘Skelp Tune’ will take you back to the ground and straight into the club. Nebraska actually sent in a ‘note to self’ saying “you’re not Moodymann” along with the first demo of this to the label. But he doesn’t have to be, as this track has all the clever sampling and disco energy of a classic Nebraska tune, nicely tucked into one hell of a groove! The flip starts with ‘Cop Show’, a no-frills disco house cut with life affirming strings, guitar licks, and a bottom end to freak out your neighbour’s neighbours. The EP closer is another collaboration with BeBelle on ‘Henri Rousseau’, built on a groove that gallops along, with strings, outer-worldly vocals, and howling soundscapes that turn it into a covert disco burner on the more experimental side of house.
On the ‘Chant des Oiseaux EP’, Nebraska effortlessly shows off his impressive sampling skills, electronic fiddling, and powerful drum programming, reminding us that he’s not lost an inch of talent over the years, continually managing to surprise us with his music! Knowing him this is simply because he’s exploring new ways to keep on surprising himself…
