You know those days when you wake up in the early hours of the morning at the top of some mysteriously misty moors, the place seemingly utterly deserted, and it isn’t exactly cold, but you feel a little bit of a chill which, in true contradictory fashion, gives you a nice warm glow? Well that’s what French instrumental newcomer Katuchat‘s Anaesthesia EP sounds like. Granted, whenever I HAVE woken up in that situation, I’ve then woken up again, realising that I was never there in the first place, but hey, I think it describes what is on offer here perfectly.
If you can imagine a Life Forms era The Future Sound Of London updated with the sound of someone like Disclosure, but with the repetitive percussions of, say, Luke Abbott, and mix in a good dose of trip-hop along the way, you’ve pretty much captured the essence of Katuchat. It’s interesting that the track ‘Hypertension‘ is the centrepoint here, because I would suggest that this highly calming, ultra-pleasant massage parlour music (a higher class one, that is, I don’t mean one of the seedier establishments!) would actually be something of a remedy for such a condition.
Of that particular track, Katuchat (or Maxime, as he is known to his friends and family) has this to say: “Hypertension is quite a special piece of the EP, it represents the whole excitement i had to create this project. It sounds like a distant music with very marked rhythm.”
It’s a very warm release – each track melding nicely with its counterparts – that hints at otherworldliness, with perhaps even a celestial quality, and it’s hard to envisage anybody being unable to enjoy such a splendidly chilled set of tunes. That said, it’s just as difficult to picture anybody getting hugely excited about them either. Not really much of a criticism that, as it is obvious that exciting people was never the intention anyway. If, however, you’re looking for something that is going to take you away from the daily grind, to escape to some idyllic wonderland where everyone panders to your own wishes and relaxation is key, then Anaesthesia, surely, is just made for you.
Anaesthesia EP will be released on 4th May through Roche Musique.
