Distant Hawaii continues to aurally thaw the oncoming Pacific cold front with a quartet of foot-toasting, skin toning summer house shufflers courtesy of Hardmatter label-head and London resident JVXTA.
Having honed his valve-warmed + dusty samplin' production chops with a self-released split on Hardmatter, a low-key cassette for Swamp Tapes and a more recent package of burners for the NYC-based imprint Homage. This time it's a step on Lobster sub Distant Hawaii with four soulful slices of summer house moods and grooves carefully crafted and chopped into a seasoned and well rounded whole.
SS Anne brings the crunchy house and edits-y vibes to the fore with an extended workout, interjecting with moments of vocal flourishes and a more up-beat almost disco vibe. On the same side is the title track stomper Orange Islands, interspersed with showers of melodic richness, slowly pouring from a crack in the rocks upon high. A tender and slow stream of soulful synth-work and cascading dreams.
Dive Theme matches the mood from whence it's names. Pure Detroit chords and staggered, Chi-house-boogie drumwork puckering the textural framework. Trance-like ethereal patterns to envelope the mind and body.
Tidying things up with a ground-floor, deep-seated low-groover is Angelo's Alley. A beach scene recording sits behind a lolloping, humped bass-kick program with touches of choral Juno embellishing throughout, and an honest and revealing spoken-word lull recalling the reflective power of Mylo's seminal Sunworshipper.