Out June 23rd, Via Gramatik’s Lowtemp
STREAM:
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“Anomalie effortlessly blends elements of trap, hip hop, funk. jazz and classical music to create gorgeous works of art.” -YOUREDM
““Velours” struts with an assuredness and purpose that belies Anomalie’s background as a classically-trained keyboardist, savoring its journey and providing a lighthouse to the fleets of future bass producers adrift at sea.” -NEST HQ
“…what sets Anomalie apart from other producers is his ability to maintain a laid-back sound while still crafting a complex composition that is rife with dramatic tension and playfully utilizes sonic layering, dynamics, and syncopation to create dramatic tension all the while showing off his penchant for the keyboard.” -LIVE FOR LIVE MUSIC
There’s been a buzz going on around the Lowtemp office for some time now. Little more than a year ago, the independent label founded by Slovenian, NYC-based, musician Gramatik, connected with Nicolas Dupuis, a young keyboard player from the beautiful city of Montreal. The 22-year old prodigy has been immersed in music since he was barely big enough to play and after 17 years of studying classical and jazz piano, he is easily one of the most exciting young musicians in the electronic dance music scene.
Around 2012 Nicolas put on a moniker, Anomalie, and began producing tracks infused with a combination of classical music, jazz, hip hop, funk, fusion and various electronic elements. Sounds hectic but he pulls it off seamlessly as evidenced on his debut self-titled EP from 2014, and by nearly 2M views his performance videos garnered on Facebook. Impressing a lot of people along the way, Anomalie then made his debut on Lowtemp with “Odyssée” in April of 2016. Soon after he started touring with Gramatik as his keyboard player on live shows, while working hard on the second EP in the meantime.
With “Métropole” now completed, two singles have already been released and the initial response from fans and critics seems to be excellent. For example, live performance video of “Velours” racked up over 200k views on Facebook in just two days, as Nicolas proved once more he is basically a wizard on the keys. And the rest of the EP is equally as amazing. Following a short but lush “Ouverture,” the record kicks off with title track that wastes no time in setting up the tone for rest of the way. Just like Anomalie’s recent remix of a gypsy swing tune by Teo Collori, also released on Lowtemp, it is simply a perfect slice of dancefloor jazz and a great example of his playful arrangements. Then there are the two singles, “Daybreak” and “Velours,” brimming with swinging beats and incredible melodies. They are separated by another short instrumentation and a seemingly chilled out track “New Space” that, of course, hides a surprise or two. Country/blues opening chords of the final track, “Le Bleury”, feel like things are about to slow down but in just a few seconds the song turns into an irresistible hip hop banger that could easily rock a festival crowd. Finally, “Épilogue” ties the EP together beautifully – it feels like open-ended conclusion to a great classic movie.
In these eight tracks Anomalie manages to showcase everything his music is about: incredible creative energy combined with songwriting techniques from jazz, and a foundation of contemporary beats ranging from hip hop to broken beat.
