Send "FaltyDL " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Whether he’s operating as one of only a few true American garage counterpoints, flirting with the iconoclastic reverberations of techno, or locking himself into deep house hypnosis, Drew Lustman (FaltyDL) enjoys rebelling against the obvious expectations that come with each of those movements. He represents a far sunnier disposition that shines in stark contrast to the torch-bearing isolation that all leftfield electronic music has ultimately turned into. His beats are breezy, yet still packed with the required gut-punching bass to turn any barren warehouse into a disco frenzy of stadium-sized proportions. And he manages to exist within both realms of the current zeitgeist of “bass music”, adept at both the liquid-like bubbling funk and the bruising breakbeat hurricanes. Whereas his acclaimed You Stand Uncertain served as more of an extension of his melodic tendencies, Atlantis (his first release for Ninja Tune) is a lofty and ambitious testament to his diversity. It begins fashionably enough with the New Yorker’s delicate take on UK garage with the damaging title track; hi-hats hiss and spurt over dramatically reduced breakbeats that silently ring out with a strong case of raver’s lament. It’s a moody set piece that swings back and forth from the commonplace garage percussion and deep house innuendo, swapping anthem-ready tapestries for more conspiratorial dreamscapes. ‘Can’t Stop the Prophet’ is deliberately awkward however, shifting from humble orchestral beginnings into raucous 80’s hip hop territory before kicking into violent drum & bass rumble that rallies against one of the most inspired sampling in recent years. The final two entries are more diffident garage tricks, doe-eyed worship set-ups than distant relations. Constantly shuffling and restless they scratch close to the bone of flexing 808, trading the floating hi-hat syndromes for blanketing grungy basslines until they almost get by as underground London anthems, just shot through the lens of a NYC drifter. It shows that Lustman isn’t one to let the well run dry, and an artist comfortable at shifting gears on a dime. Shades of You Stand Uncertain’s rave nostalgia find themselves briefly illuminated here, but for the most part Atlantis is a new path for Falty; it’s less rough and tumble hooks and sharp-toothed beats, and more loose and undefined blue-sky daydreaming (which has always been a specialty of sorts for Lustman). It’s another reliable release from one of the most reliable American dance proponents, always happy to provide a little ambition against the bass compressions and juggernaut delusions the area has sadly become known for....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| Drew Lustman (FaltyDL) has had a busy year. The New York garage/house/whatever producer dropped his second album, You Stand Uncertain, to much acclaim. With the arrival of the four-track Atlantis EP on Ninja Tune, he has also released several EPs/singles of material frequently more vibrant than that which graced the album. (The best of these, "Hip Love", received a Jamie xx remix and stands as Lustman's finest track to date, as well as one of Jamie's finest re-works.) Always difficult to pin down, Atlantis proves Lustman hasn't run out of tricks; on a track-to-track basis, it's his most eclectic, challenging release, jumping nimbly between styles, tempos, and moods over the course of each song. Atlantis serves as a showcase for its title track, a five-minute bruiser that is equal parts menacing and optimistic. Built on a powerful, pulsing bass progression, Lustman slips in garage's trademark syncopated percussion; the effect is like hearing Four Tet's streamlined "Love Cry" mischievously tweaked then pushed into the red. When the drums momentarily collect and simplify themselves, they act as a release valve for the bass' budding steam. Lustman might have had an anthem but instead chose nervy, sustained energy, and it seems wilier as a result. The remainder of Atlantis is more scattered but no less enjoyable. "Can't Stop the Prophet", in particular, feels like a breakthrough: sharp orchestral samples rub against detuned snippets of a dusty torch song, creating enough friction for the drums to slip into 180bpm drum'n'bass. The sampledelic joy of the Avalanches mingles with bass music's natural paranoia and the result is bliss-y, idiosyncratic mindrock. The final two songs, "My Light, My Love" and "The Sale Ends", hew closer to Lustman's trad garage work, but they're more variant in tone and structure than much of You Stand Uncertain, employing ringing laser blasts and croaking anti-divas....full text |
| Junodownload |
| FaltyDL has long been something of a musical alchemist; the New Yorker’s wriggling, mutating sonic experiments are borne from whatever the studio equivalent is to hunching over a row of bubbling test tubes in a laboratory, carefully seeking out the right measurements to discover that elusive elixir of life. Contained within those test tubes is a milieu of musical elements – a forgotten jungle break, a vocal from an 80s house classic, or an obscure slice of afrobeat – which are then combined with certain trademark touches (slashing, frantic hats) and constantly evolving rhythms. These experiments becoming increasingly deft, and the Atlantis EP arrives on venerable UK imprint Ninja Tune with arguably the most accomplished FaltyDL productions to date. The producer’s relationship with some of electronic music’s most respected labels – Planet Mu, 50 Weapons, Rush Hour, Swamp 81 – has seem some fascinating results, especially in 2011, but even so this serves as a landmark release. As with most recent FaltyDL 12”s the artwork is striking, and, like his Mean Streets release for Swamp 81, the vinyl weighs in at a reassuringly heavy 180g. The title track is a melodic, smudged out deep house roller, with a bassline that evokes memories of LCD Soundsystems’ “Tribulations” dovetailing snugly with twangy plucked instrumentation. As one expects from a FaltyDL production, there are frequent rhythmic shifts, changes in direction and any number of seemingly disparate samples, mashed together into one engaging whole. “Can’t Stop The Prophet” is more adventurous still, with crackly atmospherics, toyed-with vocals and sumptuous strings giving off a languid, relaxed air – that is until the frenetic jungle breakdown arrives – perhaps a nod to his earliest forays into production. There’s even a cheeky moment at the end where the source material for the primary samples is briefly, tantalisingly, revealed – a trick that he has used on recent outings for All City and Swamp 81. The flipside houses two more richly detailed productions, with the hip-hop-esque swagger of “My Light My Love” an exercise in the art of filtering. The clattering hats and softly throbbing deep house chords of “The Sale Ends” save perhaps the most emotive, introspective moment of the EP for last, leaving an unmistakable sense that, once again, this musical alchemist has got his measurements just right....full text |
FaltyDL lyrics
|
| |||||||
