counterfeit by FLOCKS
“counterfeit” is the latest EP from Cincinnati/Chicago band FLOCKS and is a collection of three very different edits of the same composition.
The release features a full-length album cut alongside two additional edits - a radio edit, and an edit by Folded Music head, Asta Hiroki.
With the full-length version clocking in at just under seven minutes, “counterfeit” covers a lot of musical ground. The feeling of the track is defined in part by the juxtaposition of acoustic instruments like piano and drums with analog synths.
Its accusingly-toned title was derived from its recording approach. Many of the parts were recorded twice and panned hard to the left and right so that each ear is hearing a slightly different take, or not a true copy - hence the title.
The full-length edit starts off with a biting metallic texture that is reminiscent of an insect burrowing through a wall. This sound quickly crescendos, and as the other instruments enter, it feels as though the aforementioned insect has found itself in a surreal world that's framed in the context of a dark dance track in the realm of Adult Swim music. This feeling is augmented by fluid, yet angular, rhythms from the drums and unpredictable phrasing from the bass and keys.
Like some kind of love child born of Flying Lotus and Radiohead, the music creates an anxious, fever dream-like state, building in its tension to a breaking point, where it settles into the beautiful and well earned peace of the pleasant outro.
The radio edit focuses on the darker-edged first section of the full-length track, whilst the Asta Hiroki edit instead jumps in only for the later section of danceable, upbeat melodics, making for a totally different listening experience based entirely on the starting point of the composition.
Plying their trade as a jazz-trained electronica group who straddle musical territories similar to BADBADNOTGOOD, Squarepusher, and Radiohead, the band is driven by a fascination with the possibilities of human interpretation of electronic sounds.
Members Tom Buckley (drums/samples), Josh Jessen (synths/keyboards), and Stephen Patota (bass/guitar) came together to form FLOCKS in the vibrant music scene of Cincinnati, Ohio. Collectively, they have performed/recorded across the world with artists such as Hi-Tek, Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Naytronix, Huntertones, Fareed Haque, and members of WHY? and Deerhoof.
Tracklist
| 1. | counterfeit (Radio Edit) | 3:11 |
| 2. | counterfeit (Asta Hiroki Edit) | 3:01 |
| 3. | counterfeit | 6:58 |
