Filtered Deluxe presents the Color of My Dreams EP from James Hayford - an electric and vibrant collection of Leftfield dance music dappled with shades of nostalgia, ablaze with vibrant percussion, and grounded in warm bass tones.
Produced throughout 2020, the EP represents a sound influenced by dreams where we can process the past and creatively reimagine the future.
We begin with ‘I Shall Proceed’ - saturated in melancholic vibes, a low slung Balearic groove, with chopped up soul snippets, and a female voice pleading; "it's my most favorite thing in the world … just to go outside and sit in the sun" - a feeling many of us can relate to in the winter season during a pandemic.
‘Uneven Steppes’ brings together off kilter broken beat and two-step grooves, with a prismatic blend of references towards the 90s bleep house styles of Lester Fitzpatrick or DBX, and the cluttered funk of the Talking Heads, backed by an uplifting pseudo-rave bass line, and congas.
The title track ‘Colour Of My Dreams’ conjures a vibrant and surrealistic soundscape that glistens with hazy vocal samples, a “shakes the rafters” wobbly bassline, and driven by chunky house (not house) beats.
‘Bring Your Shoes’ has the most direct reference to the 90s house bounce - while also including contrasting playful and darker contrasting elements like exuberant chattering on water percussion pushed against echoes of coughing children, with up-tempo and half-time 808 kicks.
The EP concludes with a meditative ambient piece entitled ‘Saturday 1128 Piano’ - capturing a suspended moment in time, and induced with fuzzy dissected piano, dusty distortion, and refracted glitches, that lead to the closing featuring a women’s voice extolling the virtues of someone who "knows the real me ..."
James Hayford is a sample based producer best known for his Shoes edits and remixes released under his own Shoes and Plimsoll labels - as well as for the Numero Group. On this five track collection you you’ll hear all the influences of classic hip-hop, soul, afro-beat, and disco that were a part of previous releases, while showcasing the range of dance music James has loved and collected throughout the years, such as the warehouse party sounds of 90s house and techno, experimental electronics, hardcore rave and two step, dubstep, breaks, and current future bass sounds.
RIYL: Hexstatic, Meat Beat Manifesto, Funki Porcini, Jacques Greene, Bicep, Four Tet
