If a 21st century life for some people was to have a sound track Night Tapes – Iiris Vesik, Max Doohan and Sam “Richie” Richards – might be the people to supply it. As much producers as musicians, since the release of their debut single Forever in 2019 they’ve quietly (So as not to annoy their South London neighbours) grown a reputation as artists intent on painting with noise.
It’s a journey that’s taken them around the world on tour and many of portals//polarities sound textures are experiential, from a Los Angeles police helicopter to an Estonian Swamp to birdsong recorded in Mexico. Vesik for her part contributes an elfin voice which gives the material an ephemeral quality, explaining also that “The emotions are in the chords, not the lyrics.”
This is an obvious recipe for the insubstantial, but the trio are skilled enough to sample wisely, typified with their use of Souls Of Mischief’s hip hop classic ’93 ‘Til Infinity’ on pacifico. Elsewhere they offer glistery ambience on swordsman and chunky trip-hop via ‘babygirl (like no1 else)’, but it’s on the Lemon tree midnight that everything comes together perfectly. If you’re going somewhere portals//polarities can take you with it.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 