INAUDIBLE

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know … a deplorable output so far on INAUDIBLE this year. “What gives, man?” you may be wondering. Couldn’t tell ya, really. I just didn’t feel like writing about music for the last few months. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been listening. In fact, I’ve been even more tuned in than ever…

So what I’m going to do to start things back up is a nouveau feature entitled Young Producers, or YP for short, in which I rep a fresh and exciting young musician each week. The criteria is simple: s/he must be no older than 25 and have yet to release a full-length album.

It’s bonkers how many amazing new talents are coming up in the scene and following in the footsteps of the legends that came before them. It’s a really great thing for electronic music.

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YP#1 – PALMS TRAX

First up on the decks then is my man Jay Donaldson aka Palms Trax. This young DJ and producer is based in Berlin and has released three excellent EP’s, Equation in 2013 and Forever in 2014, courtesy of Lobster Theremin, and most recently he put out the bangin’ In Gold on Dekmantel.

Palms Trax’s style seems rooted in Detroit house and techno, with warm pads and uber-melodic synths being his signature. Smooth drum patterns with a 4/4 thump, high hat clicks, and hand claps (my fave) round out his sound and ready it for the dance floor. He reminds me of Kassem Mosse when he’s at his most melodic, while some of his synth lines (most notably on In Gold) are reminiscent of some early Plastikman 909 licks.

And it’s all so good. With Equation and Forever, Palms Trax found his groove and with In Gold he just keeps raising the stakes even higher – the beats hit harder, the melodies are groovier, and his songwriting is stronger. His tracks almost play out like pop songs in their construction, as he doesn’t just build off a loop, but has proper hooks and changes in his tracks, which makes for a dynamic listening experience.

He also has a radio show called Cooking With Palms Trax on Berlin Community Radio where he plays his favourite jams from his extensive record collection. Check him out ASAP if you haven’t already! Cheers. See ya next week.

Tags: berlin, dekmantel, inaudible, lobster theremin, mmmlele, palms trax, young producers

This entry was posted on September 3, 2015 at 17:51 and is filed under electronica, music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.