Eager fans of Eliphino have seen numerous vastly different reincarnations of the London-based musician come to life as he’s steadily explored entirely different corners of sound over the years. It’s safe to say that he’s been efficacious in pursuing all of his deviating musical endeavours. While many saw the whirlwind of support for his 2011 effort “More Than Me” from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Alex Nut and the unforgettable drop of the title track by Jamie XX on Boiler Room last year as a trigger to start etching his name into their minds, the silence before the storm is certainly not one to be slept on in this case. For example, in 2008 the Leeds-rooted producer self-released his severely underrated “Seasons” EP for free, a beat tape that flawlessly reinvokes all the feelings that remind us just exactly why we’ve all been through that phase of living in an isolated bubble with nothing but Dilla and a handful of Jay-inspired artists to feed us. At the same time, this certainly doesn’t take away from the fact that “More Than Me” was an unmatched release, almost leading us to a point where it’s confusing how many anthemic and constantly captivating qualities one single track can possess. If anything, the simultaneous talent that lingers within these two releases while being poles apart from each other should tell you something about the perfect execution of versatility being displayed by a single artist here.
Needless to say, hearing about the prospect of a brand new Eliphino release on the trusted Somethinksounds was an exciting one. Those who have gotten used to his quixotic, laid-back and floating sounds in the vein of tracks like “Don’t Try Be” and “You’ll Know” might be pleasantly surprised with how blatantly powerful and in-your-face the freshly produced “VRYBDY” is: while most of Eliphino’s efforts have been completely dancefloor-friendly, they haven’t been quite as compelling to get you moving as this one. The slightly dark, almost despairing tone of a sample echoing “Everybody singing” repeatedly, pillared by hard hitting, shotgun-like beat pattern that gradually builds up towards a congenially harsh ending makes for an impressively alluring A-side for this release. On the flipside, “Don’t Make Sense” is equally serious with chopped up ragga vocal samples collaborating with funky basslines and melodies to create a track that sounds kaleidoscopic in its sound palette. Eliphino has been described by many as an artist who constantly explores his own limits and uninvestigated territories and pushes boundaries by doing so. If “VRYBDY/Don’t Make Sense” is an example of the output that is assembled during his exploration process, we’re more than happy in being his audience for the long haul.
Stream: Eliphino – VRYBDY/Don’t Make Sense
Eliphino’s “VRYBDY/Don’t Make Sense” is out this Monday the 28th of May on Somethinksounds.
