There are few artists in the Romanian minimal scene that can match Vincentlulian‘s production CV in terms of the labels he has released on. Raresh’s Metereze and Priku’s Atipic both feature. It’s easy to see why, the Bucharest-based artist can craft tracks that rock dancefloors, soothe hearts or create something in between.
Romanian booking agency Contemporan delved into acting as a label back in 2017 with Sublee’s Moodswing EP. A year and a half later, it feels like their next release was worth the wait.
Vincentlulian himself said he didn’t want “plan on doing something that’s either melancholic or danceable, I follow the sounds…and then I figure out which direction I am going to follow.” Even so, his Contempo EP offers an excellent snapshot of how he manages to go in a variety of directions with his music and refuses to be tunneled into one sound.
The pick of the four tracks might just be ‘Retras’. An outstandingly creative piece of work, composing strange synth growls with other oddball glitches of sound. ‘Everything’ was the alleged inspiration for this EP and the bassline in Retras seems like it was suitably inspired by a Crazy Beach sunrise or a sunny afternoon at Club der Visionaere. A perfect peak time track when you still need to keep a bit of restraint.
The whole EP is an illustration of Vincentlulian’s versatility as a producer and musical nous for being able to generate emotion within dance music. Another personal highlight of the EP is A1’s ‘Fixfue’, spearheaded by a bouncy bassline, the claps and hi-hats are as playful as they are functional which is refreshing for a scene which can take it’s music a bit too serious at times.
A-side compatriot Sonor offers up a track for those who like their minimal to be floaty and otherworldly, yet drizzled with groove whilst B2 S-Ude Cv takes you on a glistening journey that’s laced chimes and gentle synths.
If there’s one thing the Romanian scene needs right now, it’s versatility. Tracks need distinctive features and tones to stand-out amongst the crowd nowadays. Vincentlulian manages to do this across four tracks within one EP and now the bar for the rest of 2019 has been seriously raised.
The EP is already out on Deejay and forthcoming to all major record records, most likely one near you.
More info on Vincentlulian
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More info on Contemporan
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