Iglooghost’s latest EP is full on wonky
Like the worm in a witch hat on its cover, Chinese Nü Yr will wiggle its way into your heart
Iglooghost is the latest signing to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder imprint, and the influence he’s had on the 18-year old producer is immediately noticeable in his latest EP, Chinese Nü Yr. The concept EP tells the story of a gelatinous worm-like creature as it travels through endless wormholes to pink worlds consisting only of cartoonish floating fruit.
Over four songs,Iglooghost mixes electronic beats with futuristic hip-hop to create distinct universes of sound. The varying time signatures and unusual synths place the young producer among the best in the Wonky genre. While the structures of the songs might be unfamiliar, the sounds that Iglooghost uses borrow from a diverse range of electronic artists. At times you can hear echoes of Arca and Oneohtrix Point Never.
‘Xiangjiao’ (which is also the name of the album’s protagonist) starts the EP at a blisteringly fast 169 bpm, with high pitched, sped up and cut off voice samples accentuating the speed.
In contrast, the second track of the EP, ‘Mametchi / Usohachi’ is far slower. The plips and plops sound eerily similar to SOPHIE’s ‘Lemonade’ (one of last year’s most innovative songs). In a parallel universe, Iglooghost is probably part of the PC Music collective.
Iglooghost samples his brother throughout the album but it’s especially noticeable here contrasted against the low pitched and robotic rap verse from ‘Mr.Yote’.
‘Gold Coat’ is a slower and more peculiar track. Its sound is probably the most distinctive on the EP, featuring Japanese singer/producer Cuushe’s vocals laid over a bouncing beat and lush synthesisers.
The final track ‘Peach Rift’ is easily the least experimental, and can be best described as mediocre EDM with sprinkles on top.
Chinese Nü Yr could only have been made in 2015, and somehow among the releases of some of the biggest electronic producers, Iglooghost manages to stand out. Just like the worm in a witch hat on its cover, Chinese Nü Yr will wiggle its way into your heart.
Chinese Nü Yr byIglooghost is out now on Brainfeeder
