Foster - Neon Life (Phantom Island)



Round three on our favourite new imprint of 2014 and the Swiss label knocked it out of the park again. Lexx & Co introduce Foster to the roster. I had a quick look at his discography and it looks like the man produced a handful of records/remixes under his Soultourist moniker for established labels like Delusions of Grandeur, Compost and Drumpoet Community about a decade ago and then fell off the radar. Throw on his Neon Life EP and you instantly recognize someone who knows his way around the studio though and seems keen on exploring new musical avenues instead of going for the jugular.

Tease The Cat on the A might clock in well below 100 BPM territory, it sure doesn't lack drive. Punchy, rolling drums and a big pulsating bassline dictate the pace, dubby synth- and sitar lines provide depth and warmth and ethnic and distant vocals add a bit of mystique to an astonishing production. If you liked early 6th Borough Project you should feel right at home here.



With AEIOU, Foster takes things to the type of midtempo contemporary boogie labels like Omega Supreme are doing so well. It's a richly detailed, chunky, guitar-driven beast of a track with a monumental bassline that should work a right treat in a warm-up set. Things come to a close with title track Neon Life, in which Foster fuses the deepness of Tease the Cat and the boogie antics of AEIOU to great effect. Having a hard time picking a favourite here and the three tracks get better with each listen.

The Phantom Island records are limited, come in screen-printed sleeves and tend to sell out incredibly fast, so jump on this now before you're at the mercy of the Discogs maffia.

Still available at Phonica


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