Chinese Nü Yr
| Chinese Nü Yr | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by Iglooghost | ||||
| Released | 30 October 2015 | |||
| Genre | Footwork | |||
| Length | 16:20 | |||
| Label | Brainfeeder | |||
| Producer | Iglooghost | |||
| Iglooghost chronology | ||||
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Chinese Nü Yr is an extended play (EP) by Irish producer Seamus Malliagh, known by his stage name Iglooghost, released on the Brainfeeder label on 30 October 2015. Containing elements of footwork, bass, grime and 2-step garage, the EP's sound is represented by a worm who goes through several nonsensical lands. To make Chinese Nü Yr, Malliagh first designed the cover art and then developed songs with structures and sound to fit the artwork. Upon release, the EP garnered generally favorable reviews from critics, a common praise being its unique style.
Composition
Chinese Nü Yr is a Footwork album[1] using elements of bass,[1] grime[2] and 2-step garage.[2] Malliagh explained that Chinese Nü Yr is a story about Xiāngjiāo, a gelatinous worm who wears a witch hat and is voiced by pitch-shifted recordings of his dad and little sister. Xiāngjiāo blasts through many colorful, nonsensical lands, having to dodge things such as peanuts, floating fruit, pink-colored fog, and mountains growing out of the ground.[3][4] Forced to visit uncountably many alien worlds, Xiāngjiāo fears both the unfamiliarity of future lands and the extreme speed at which he/she travels. [3][4] In a December 2015 interview, Malliagh stated the fate of the worm will occur in a full-length album.[3]
A wobbly, stretchy synth sound representing the worm moving through worlds is used on all of the tracks.[3] Pitch-shifted recordings of Malliagh's dad screaming signifies the worm porting through a hole to the next world, which, according to Malliagh, he was used to given that he was a member of a punk group.[3] He described writing his story as if he was scoring a film, first making the cover art for the EP, and then coming up with the structures and sounds of the songs to fit it.[3][5] He said in an interview with LA Weekly that "Marrying music and pictures is the funnest thing ever. There's so many subconscious elements at play. Looking at a 'mega-sick' picture can make even the most crappy, uncool song sound awesome. Art has this incredible way of subconsciously enhancing music."[6]
Tracks
Chinese Nü Yr's first two tracks, "Xiangjiao" and "Mametchi / Usohachi", were compared by Resident Advisor journalist Andrew Ryce to the works of labels PC Music and Noumenal Loom; the reason of the comparison for the former song is due to its "mush-mouthed vocals" and sounds commonly found in trance music, the hip hop and uptempo "speedy chop-up" of the latter for its vocals reminiscent of the song "Hard" by English producer Sophie.[1] "Hard" ends with a rap verse from Japanese singer and producer Mr. Yote,[1] whom Iglooghost said had "amazing taste in melodies" and that her work "sounds wide-eyed and childlike but is also introspective, like a genius baby."[6] "Gold Coat" is the least frantic of all of the EP's four tracks, and Ryce also called it his least favorite of the songs: "Mal's strength comes from deftly juggling ideas, so "Gold Coat"'s dubstep-tempo diversion feels like a regression."[1] "Peach Rift", the heaviest-sounding and longest cut on the EP at over five minutes, was described by Ryce as a "Rubik's Cube of heavy basslines, chirpy synths, and chattering vocals that never quite line up, which can be numbing by the end."[1]
Release and reception
"Gold Coat" was Chinese Nü Yr's lead single, released on 7 October 2015.[7] Six days later, the label Brainfeeder announced they would release the EP on 30 October 2015.[4] Two days before the release of the EP, the music blog Pigeons & Planes premiered "Xiangjiao".[5] Iglooghost said the name of the record came from looking at the sky while flying back home from his gig in Rome: "The sky looked really weird and for some reason the word Chinese New Year came into my head. I was really happy, because everything seemed super cool, life just seemed really warm and nice. I think the word Chinese New Year sounds warm and cool. I imagine fireworks, red colours and Chinese lanterns.”[8] Upon its distribution, Chinese Nü Yr garnered positive reviews. Gary Suarez, reviewing for The Quietus, spotlighted the EP's "mirthfully manic synthesis of garage, hip hop, footwork, and as-yet undefined (sub)genres" that "makes him a beatmaker to watch."[9] Both Ryce and Exclaim! critic Ashley Hampson praised Malliagh for making such a unique record while still fitting with the works of other acts on the Brainfeeder label.[1][2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Xiangjiao" | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Mametchi / Usohachi" (featuring Mr. Yote) | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Gold Coat" (featuring cuushe) | 4:20 |
| 4. | "Peach Rift" | 5:29 |
Total length: |
16:20 | |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ryce, Andrew (10 November 2015). "Iglooghost – Chinese Nü Yr EP". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 Hampson, Ashley (28 October 2015). "Iglooghost Chinese Nü Yr". Exclaim!. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ep. 29: Iglooghost" (Podcast). The Needle Drop. 4 December 2015. Event occurs at 12:35–22:24. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 NATVRALISM (13 October 2015). "Iglooghost – "Gold Coat" from "Chinese Nü Yr" (10/30)". Brainfeeder. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- 1 2 Gardner, Constant (28 October 2015). "Enter the Weird and Wonderful Worlds of Artist/Designer Iglooghost with "Xiangjioa"". Pigeons & Planes. Complex. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- 1 2 Weiss, Layne (3 November 2015). "Brainfeeder's Latest Release Is About a Worm in a Witch Hat". LA Weekly. Voice Media Group. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ↑ Breihan, Tom (7 October 2015). "Iglooghost – "Gold Coat" (Feat. Cuushe)". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ↑ Davies, Natalie (4 November 2015). "Iglooghost: "Flying Lotus doesn't tweet about his breakfast – he keeps it low key."". Dummy. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ↑ Suarez, Gary (20 October 2012). "Full Clip: October's Hip Hop Albums Reviewed By Gary Suarez". The Quietus. Retrieved 16 April 2016.