by Harry Mathieson
5/5
A.A.L (Against All Logic) is the moniker under which acclaimed producer Nicolas Jaar dropped a surprise debut album last week.
2012-2017 is a versatile and extremely impressive record, a large shift away from Jaar’s recent musical experimentations, such as the dense political soundscapes of 2016’s Sirens. From the stuttering drums and sweet vocal mashups of ‘I Never Dream’, to the dense head-bobbing grooves that underlie the bellowing soul on ‘Some Kind of Game’, the album is a masterclass in sampling, taking great chunks of other artists’ music to create something that is utterly unique, blissfully euphoric.
Jaar’s talents as a producer come through in the sheer sonics he creates. The overall sound has an incredibly organic feel, at times almost raw, but never at all amateur. On the contrary, 2012-2017 is the work of a producer who knows his chops, not needing to rely on heavily compressed glitz and glam when the absolute energy of his music comes through in the winding grooves he masterfully builds.
This is a must-listen for any house fanatic, and likewise not one to miss for electronic music fans in general.
