Jacques Greene - The Ready EP (EP Review)

In other areas of music it seems people are bending over backwards to invent new genres and sub-divide existing ones. This kind of electronic music, however, has fractured and evolved so frequently over the last couple of years that it makes trying to pigeonhole a trend, sound or track a futile exercise. Martyn’s 3024 imprint is just as big a culprit as any in this cross pollination and combined with Jacques Greene’s ever shifting productions we’re quite happy to sweep any genre implications under the big rug that is ‘house’ and get on with enjoying The Ready EP.



The Ready EP marks yet another checkpoint in Jacques Greene’s exploratory journey of dance music. Here he’s decamped to the rainforest where Predator was filmed. Lead track opens with ominous tribal beats and a dense atmosphere, thick with apprehension. Cymbals scatter and the bass bubbles as this svelte monster slowly hauls itself out of the mist with as much muscle as Arnie or Carl Weathers but much more stealth. A syncopated minimal pluck urges the track onwards while the vocal’s siren call dances on the edge of recognition. ‘Ready’ lulls it’s listeners into a false sense of security by plodding forwards with a smooth, laconic gait. By the time it changes up to its storming 4×4 beat you know it’s coming for you and it’s already too late.

Second track, Prism, converges on the more recognised house formula with a straighter kick and clap backbone. It’s still rich in texture and thick with tension though. A powerful bass line provides the rising heartbeat of the track whilst delicate melodies float overtop in a haze of reverb, encapsulated by a canopy of distant shakers and hats. Again the drifting vocal flirts with your nagging memory, almost daring you to remember it’s origin.

Dakou, rounds off the digital EP with a cleaner production style. Emotive chords wash away the sweat and dirt of the previous two tracks allowing the listener to bathe in bliss. Gentle, arpeggiated synths swim around the percussive low end before an acid lick ripples through. The ebb and flow of the vocal now soothing in its inexplicable familiarity.

Jacques Greene’s The Ready EP is a fusion of melody, emotion, atmosphere and propulsion that pushes the envelope for electronic music. It’s not an EP that will slide easily into many DJs’ sets but if you hear this out you’ll know you’re having one heck of an amazing night.

Originally posted at Blah Blah Blah