Detroit’s Simple drops his debut on Apollo: six tracks of fractured minimalism and fuzzy, experimental electronics. The EP is decidedly downbeat, its shards of percussion often icy and cavernous; and yet it maintains a strangely compelling sense of warmth throughout, thanks in no small part to its amalgam of genial components: pitched-down vocals, distorted Rhodes and plenty of popping, clicking and clacking.
‘Barely Together’ is the most convivial, a sweet, broken sort of jazz, submerged in moist bass and clinking beats. ‘Main Street’ goes in a similar direction, its Rhodes keys splintered and skewed by sparse percussion.
Elsewhere things are a little less accessible as Simple goes further off-piste: ‘Lather’ and ‘Draw The Shades’ refuse to reveal any discernible melody or beat, opting instead for muddied, creaking soundscapes, prone to abrupt tangents. ‘Felt and Cognac’ is a lethargic slice of RnB akin to some of The Weeknd’s stuff, dreamy and achingly slow. The EP ends on a high with the skittery instrumental hip-hop of ‘You Used To Run It All’.
An intriguing if not entirely satisfying EP, heavily informed by improvisation and Simple’s desire to present the unexpected. Unfortunately, the highlights come from those productions that are a little more conservative in their approach – the title track a particularly heart-warming piece of electronic soul.
Apollo | Released: March
