Equatorial Ultravox is the debut EP from Chad Valley, the much hyped, burgeoning chill-wave artist from Oxford. Chad Valley, real name Hugo Manuel, is a key figure within the Oxford music scene, and is part of the notable Oxford music collective Blessing Force, which also contains key alt-indie acts such as Fixers and Trophy Wife. Describing themselves as “a community of musicians, artists & writers”, Blessing Force is currently pumping out a variety of clever, subtle and curious music, and Chad Valley is no exception. Bordering on innovative, Equatorial Ultravox has a strong vibe of experimentation and sonic alchemy, and demonstrates genuine new developments in the chillwave genre.
Initial impressions of Chad Valley’s work with Equatorial Ultravox are typical of the genre. There are the vague conceptual rather than artist-based influences cited, such as the beach, pool parties, swaying and sunsets. Instrumentation, whilst very interesting, is also perhaps typical of the genre. There are numerous, but unobtrusive, delicately balanced synth timbres, polyrhythmic drum machine fills, various percussion samples and numerous effects, from bit-crushing to flange, oscillations to overdubs. The production of the EP is also fairly atypical, with layered vocals parts, a general wash of synth sounds, and the rhythm section placing low in the mix.
There is however a notable air of consideration throughout the EP that makes Chad Valley’s work more remarkable. When listening to Equatorial Ultravox, one feels that there is a deep and concentrated interest on Chad Valley’s behalf of the specific dynamics of the music. The balance of the stereo fields, the depth and impact of each sound, its decay and reverberation all feels contemplated. Each song feels like a studied, assessed, tweaked and re-tweaked sound collage.
This EP also has a number of tracks that have a punchier, more upbeat vibe than what is typical of the chillwave genre. To me, these more buoyant songs actually work better than the more typical chillwave fare as they have a more innovative concept base, where rich soundscapes and dense washes of sound meet a more dance inspired vibe. Tracks such as ‘Fast Challenges’ have a brighter, more effervescent feel, with peppy drum sounds and crystallized synth timbres obviously reminiscent of 80s dance-pop circa Like a Virgin era Madonna. Tracks like ‘Fast Challenges’ and ‘Now That I’m Real (How Does it Feel)’, whilst clearly remaining within the chillwave confines, are pushing the genre and expanding its horizons. They are more multifaceted, fitting well into an alt-indie context, but also have elements of dance and pop music in catchier moments.
Whilst Chad Valley’s excellent recent press is demonstrative of his audible talents, perhaps it is also related to the chillwave genre finally filtering down and making sense to more mainstream audiences through his work. There is a definite commerciality to Equatorial Ultravox – it is just about catchy and accessible with some nice hooks, and is certainly less of an overwhelming cacophony of ideas, styles, timbres and samples, as much other chillwave music can be. Perhaps with Chad Valley we could have the first UK based successful chillwave act to crossover into significant mainstream popularity.
[rating:4]
20/06/2011
