Ken Oath is a relatively new Sydney label fronted by good friends Earl Grey and James Greville. After bouncing round the local DJ scene and throwing parties as Rimbombo for quite some time, the two decided to band together to form the cheekily named Ken Oath Records. Since their first VA released January this year, they’ve put out a string of records by Sydney-siders Caravan, Low Flung and The Possé, and drawing in substantial attention from Europe and beyond whilst doing so. This time, however, the label looks to Australia’s Adelaide – as many others also seem to be doing – for their fifth offering, landing on none other than Furious Frank (soundcloud).
After properly establishing himself last year via his Vector Works solo EP and joint 12” with DJ Dogg on Melbourne’s signature Butter Sessions label, we now see the Adelaide producer further develop his moody acid-laden soundscapes across the cohesive 5-track Magic Mountain EP. Whilst A1 opens the EP assertively with broken breaks and statement cosmic electro, the brooding A2 takes a darker turn; it features another Adelaidian, Mic Mills, a long-time collaborator with whom Frank has a joint 7” on Dan White’s Rhythm Works label.
[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/boltingbits/premiere-furious-frank-heysen-trail” /]
Balancing somewhere in the middle between the utopic fantasy that is B1 and the quiet urgency of B3 is our track, B2 Heysen Trail. Meditative yet rejuvenating, celestial ringing arpeggios rise above a sincere, slow-breathing melody and a warming bass, creating a thick, echoey orchestra of textured synths. Each layer ebbs along leisurely at its own pace, yet contributes to a beautifully introspective harmonic block which flows above electrifying laser squelches, bouncy drums and enlivening claps.
Furious Frank’s KEN005 Magic Mountain EP is set for an October 12th release… you can pre-order the record here!
Maria