music
Suol061Tender GamesNotion
Chopstick & Johnjon’s Berlin based Suol label follow up their balmy Summer Daze collection with an equally warming EP from label stalwarts Ulrich Harrison and Marlon Hoffstadt a.k.a Tender Games. Having had a busy summer including live shows at a slew of international festivals the artful pair offer up their ‘Notion’ EP: a 4 track collection of gently ambling rhythms and heart-rending melodicism.
Relating to themes of love, selfishness and disconnection – the title track kicks things off. A cyclical guitar motif paves the way for a buoyant thud and syncopated shuffles before a gently flexing synth pattern emerges. Swooning and snaring vocals are spread and reverberated before ‘Walking On’ is formed upon a theme of altruism. Purring organ tones and patterning tambourines interweave ahead of an arresting Rhodes motif before urgency is added through the injection of layered synths and additive percussion.
‘Collided’ – Tender Games’ collaboration with vocalist Mulay then sets grooving, scuzzy drums under a rich and sultry croon. Warped synth lines and skipping, off-grid hat patterns push progress forwards in a song about instant and impulsive connection. ‘Nimbus’ then blooms gradually behind stuttering synth tones and soft, allaying chord changes. A darting and purposeful groove drives in from underneath before flickering melodies dart in to cap off another fine addition to Suol’s ever-evolving catalogue.
