Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise (2011)

Nicolas Jaar is a 21 year old DJ that’s been around since he was only 14 years old, and for his debut full-length he brings something completely left field in the electronic arena, this LP is called “Space Is Only Noise”, and it takes pretty well both concepts, this LP for sure has strange noises but all of that adds up to a very basic and calmed area that finds “Space”.

Jaar’s LP takes a lot of similarities from other electronic music produced over the years, Ricardo Villalobos being one of them, and also I find a lot of moments that reminded me Fight Sounds of Cirqlesquare and in some other he reminded me a much slower version of Nôze. It seems like all the electronic music is made to be danced and to be empowered with a sort of sexual energy, but the interesting thing about Jaar is that he’s music doesn’t have this pretention, but doesn’t turn to the slow overly conceptual electronic slow music, so in a way if traditional techno is about sex, Nicolas Jaar is about love making, an observation probably accurate, because the music doesn’t concentrate in the beat, but also in everything else that’s happening around, just like in sex the importance of the beat takes off the romance but in the love making is all about the caress and the kissing and the dirty words whispered in the ears without being completely dirty and sexual.

Another non usual thing in this LP are the piano samples and the jazz inspired instrumentations around, clapping, a very zen like sound of water and what seems to sound like nature maybe wood, or winter ice (sounds that maintain themselves through out the entire LP); also plays with Ray Charles, tango beats (something that maybe has to do with Nicolas roots in Chile), its always about a mix and a self cantered way of making music, giving the sense of something personal and intimate, almost sacred. Less than 50 minutes of really soft progressions inside very calmed emotions.

The voice in this LP is fundamental but also out of focus, is not only confused in the blurry details of the music surrounding the beats, but also the lyrical minimal context, sampling Ray Charles, dialogues form films and his computerized slightly manipulated voice repeating stuff that really pose as proposals full of aesthetic meaning, truly work of art, paying respect to classic jazzy and bluesy rhythms and reconstructing the dialogue to the listener in his own way. The LP can be weird but so well putted together that you dive into it without even knowing.

This is an LP you can easy lose yourself and get severely addicted, it has the techno logic but is not made to be danced and its calmed, slow, not boring at all and an interesting proposal on electronic that doesn’t get to the extent of experimentation of instrumental masters such as Four Tet (because the fact of adding voices seems to make the concept more intentional and less propositive), but also puts some new elements like slow calmed space into the mix.

Tracklist:

1. Être
2. Colomb
3. Sunflower
4. Too Many Kids Finding Rain In The Dust
5. Keep Me There
6. I Got A Woman
7. Problems With The Sun
8. Space Is Only Noise If You Can See
9. Almost Fell
10. Balance Her In Between Your Eyes
11. Specters Of The Future
12. Trace
13. Variations
14. ^Tre

Rate: 8.6/10

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