from the start of this debut release from amsterdam-based lapien, one conceives that the young producer is conscientious. >anvers<, the french name for belgian port antwerp, starts in unassuming manner, synths swimming, bass pondering, a gentle cymbal tapping. its the sound of thoughtful admiration, as if lapien is standing in front of the citys towering gothic cathedral, motionless in the midst of a now modern metropolis. but then, as loops spring uncomfortably back and an insistent beat thunders into the fray, one realizes that this is no time for admiring architecture: this is a night drive through the city – coarse orange streetlamps, chrome blue reflections, droplet-stained window panes. it is, also, at an unusually and unsettlingly fast pace, dragging its deeper house timbres and textures upwards. conforces mix is anything but restful: alarms in the distance fall around offbeat rhythms of increasingly diverse dynamics, bringing rain down on the city at night. to end, fred ps composition is heavy & uncompromising, yet it quivers with synths washed in beautiful, calming ambience
