Artist: Habersham
Title: Outside The Box EP
Label: Audio Therapy
By: Simon Jones | 17 January 2007
Tracklist:

• A1: Aceide
• A2: Where's My Guitar?
• B1: Tornado
• B2: Hours (Feat J. Regan)
• B3: Minutes

Habersham "Outside The Box EP"

Audio Therapy's 2006 was without question one of the label's strongest years, with a collection of quality compilations, and a diverse range of singles featuring artists such as Paul Jackson and Shlomi Aber, in addition to the likes of Killahurtz and Oliver Moldan. One could talk about paradigm shifts and the wind of change, but what it basically boils down to is that in today's climate, musical boundaries and genre classification are becoming more and more irrelevant. One artist who's been pushing that idea for quite some time now is Atlanta based producer Habersham. Continuing his association with Audio Therapy, following on from his first two AA singles for the label, he now returns with a more expansive body of work, presented in an EP quite aptly named 'Outside The Box'.

'Aceide' is the track that opens the box, so to speak, and whilst I wouldn't want to constrict the EP at this point in time, it quickly ascertains it's position as the lead track, it's rolling bass stabs, effected sounds and stellar chord progression all contributing to the potent nature of this warped main room bomb. Meanwhile, 'Where's My Guitar' sees Habersham continue his experimentation with dark electronic soundscapes. Filtered organ type sounds and distorted guitar synths project a slight hint of Squarepusher meets Radiohead, but much like it's a-side counterpart, 'Where's My Guitar' seems to take on a life of it's own, with the EP evolving of it's own accord.

The other side of the EP sees 'Tornado' whip up a storm with it's free flowing keys and big lead haphazardly spiraling their way over a deep, aurally satisfying bass groove, transcending into the hazy string-laden opus that is 'Hours' which follows. It's a subliminal piece of "score music", infusing Latin flavours, deep house and cinematic elements, leading one to question whether part of Habersham's future could indeed lie in production for film and tv. 'Minutes' as one might guess, continues the laid back mood, this time in form of a short 3 minute lounge-esque ambient piece which culminates the EP on a poignant and reflective note.

The 'Outside The Box EP' isn't just a collection of five tracks, though they each individually are able to stand on their own. Collectively, there's an overall connection, starting with the main room sensibilities of 'Aceide', moving through the experimental mid-section where 'Where's My Guitar' and 'Tornado' reside, and closing with the stunning 'Hours' and 'Minutes'. Habersham's depth as a producer is projected brightly by this EP, and it leaves one to wonder what could be possible from a potential artist LP should he ever produce one. All that is left to be said is that by going 'Outside The Box', Audio Therapy has delivered one of it's best releases in some time, and hopefully we'll see more releases of this caliber throughout 2007.