Not merely a single, Trading Places is available as a pair of 3-track EPs, split into Daytime Versions and Nighttime Versions, racking up nearly forty minutes of music. Taken in tracklist order, the journey begins at 11AM, continuing through 3PM, 6PM, 10PM, 2AM, 5AM...and then, if you're like me, back round to 11AM as you'll want to put this on a loop.
11AM is like a perfect soundtrack to a scene in a lost 1990s movie where the protagonist is wandering the streets of the city, not their own, lost but with a sense of urgency and poise. There's a great funky brass sample and loping bassline that suggests they probably have impeccable dress sense too. A cracking start/end to this long day's journey into night and back again.
3PM picks up the brass sample and ups the funk with a guitar riff and 1980s percussion that evokes the spirit of A Certain Ratio's version of Shack Up meeting - and I'm getting obscure here, but I posted it earlier this month so it was in my mind - DJ E FX's San Frandisco Dub of Control by Traci Lords.
6PM is a revelation. After a punchy start, insistent beats, keyboard stabs and 1-2-3-4 sample, things really take an interesting turn at the 2:20 mark with Siouxsie Sioux's distinctive vocals kicking in. It's an inspired move and one which takes the music to another level. The longest track on both EPs at a smidge under seven and a half minutes, it feels like it could easily go on for twice as long. However, we're now at the end of EP1 - and daytime - and nighttime beckons.
10PM has a tough act to follow and does not hesitate in making a statement of intent. An insistent beat, reminiscent of Slam whilst unmistakably Jezebell - reinforced by a voice proclaiming "You know it's us" a few seconds in - is layered with synth washes and choppy chords. You'll be dancing and swaying to this one, lost in the moment, riding on a wave...ah, these are all cliches, just feel it.
2AM and after a night of excess the second wind - and disorientation - has kicked in. Have you been dancing to the same song all night? No, it's the same yet different. There are lots of 1990s references - at various points, I'm reminded of The Chemical Brothers and Leftfield but the use of samples and percussion couldn't sound more bang on the moment either. This is the shortest of the six versions on offer (only just) though it's enough to give that extra little push to keep this party going into the daylight.
5AM takes another left-turn, revealing that the sampled voice from 10PM is in fact a full vocal, included here in it's entirety. A tik-tok synth line and hot stepping bassline underpin the lyrics which give the song it's title and sample-ready soundbites. And before you know it, it's all over...until 11AM, when it starts all over again.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Jezebell's music so I was inclined to like Trading Places before I'd even heard a note of music. That aside, this is a great pair of EPs. Far from taking the easy route of slight variations on a theme, whilst built from the same initial sample source the six versions instead stand on their own as individual tracks and also reward as a whole, a chronological journey from start to end and around again.
But all this is just hyperbole. Both EPs are available on Bandcamp and come highly recommended. Buy now!
Its a great EP, been enjoying it a lot this week
ReplyDeleteOr rather, they're both great EPs
ReplyDeleteJesse and Darren are on fire, a stupendously great hit rate in 2023 already with their run of remixes and now this pair of EPs.
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