John Talabot - Fin LP [Permanent Vacation]

If there's one person who has been causing a stir in the international club circuit recently, it's Barcelona's John Talabot. His debut “My Old School” (which, by the way, is literal) on Permanent Vacation in 2009 and shortly after the single “Sunshine,” which he released on his own label Hivern Disc, already made him one of the most promising musicians in the Spanish electronic scene. And those two releases already marked the hallmark of John Talabot's unparalleled music: raw, repetitive, with heavy kick drum hits, sample-based, moderate in tempo, with distorted drums, and light years away from today's clean, repetitive house sound. This unique style, which also fuses influences from afrobeat, Detroit techno, Chicago house, and cosmic disco, but also northern soul or the energy of flamenco, immediately caught attention. James Murphy, Âme, and Aeroplane started including Talabot's music in their sets as if it were the most natural thing. However—and this is quite rare—he not only gained legions of fans in the house and disco community but also among alternative pop and indie rock followers. NME and Resident Advisor featured “Breakthrough” reports on him, and he can be proud of being named “Best New Music” by Pitchfork. (Being quite elusive about showing his face in magazines or on the web, some funny rumors also emerged that John Talabot was the alter ego of a well-known Detroit techno producer).

At the same time, he attracted the attention of like-minded artists such as James Holden and Luke Abbott from Border Community, Blondes, or Delorean, which led to a series of fruitful collaborations: Luke Abbott and Blondes remixed Talabot's single “Sunshine,” John Talabot remixed a track by Delorean, and, vice-versa, Ekhi from Delorean contributed vocals to the song “Journeys” on John's album. Another example is the Young Turks label (home to Jamie XX, Holy Fuck, El Guincho, or SBTRKT), on which he released the EP “Families” in 2010, which was praised without limits. Pitchfork, for example, lauded: “…where pop and house influences sweetly mingle to provide an unshakable sense of euphoria,” and even compared Talabot to artists like Four Tet or Caribou.

Although he has remained true to his sound, John Talabot has shown constant evolution as a producer since his first release. He has carved out a solid musical path that has made him one of the great references in European house and also a highly sought-after remixer (for artists such as The XX, Francesco Tristano's “Aufgang” project, Shit Robot on DFA, Tahiti 80, Joakim, or Teengirl Fantasy, to name just a few).

A progression that now crystallizes in “ƒin,” his first full-length album for Permanent Vacation. An album in which the Barcelona master sets aside dancefloor immediacy to expand his stylistic palette more than ever. To do this, Talabot fuses all the elements that have built his distinctive sound so far and brings them to the surface from a new perspective, where the construction of complex song structures, intricate rhythms, and layers of ever-evolving melodies and atmospheres take over from the “one kick drum and one sampler” philosophy of his early productions. The result brings us 11 tracks (we should call them songs, really!) dominated by dark ambiances, gaseous textures, and bittersweet moods that, above all, reveal a vivacity difficult to find in contemporary electronic music. “Fin” is far from a collection of tracks. From the majestic opener “Depak Ine” to its solemn finale with “So Will Be Now,” one of the two songs featuring his labelmate and kindred spirit, Pional, each track traces a global dialogue with the rest, culminating in an emotionally intense journey through Talabot's always captivating and unique musical vision.