It’s quickly becoming apparent that, with his new project LA Priest, Sam Dust (neé Eastgate) is not fucking around.
Gone are the ‘quirky’ nu-rave stylings and am-dram vocal acrobatics of his former output, in its place we are seeing a mature artist shooting to carve out his own distinct style.
If you recall how the refrain vocals on first single Oino (Engine, his 2007 single, doesn’t count) were warped to the point of barely holding themselves together in a recognisable form, new track Party Zute / Learning to Love takes this concept and applies it to every one of its many (many) instrumental layers.
Starting in subdued form, the opening minute offers scant instrumentation, pairing shimmering keys alongside Eastgate’s shaking vocals. But from here things only become more muddled, with layers of whining synth and stuttering bass that stop-start, repeat and weave in and out of focus. The end effect is reminiscent of Adam Crisp’s recent work as Clarence Clarity, but with a clear and significant debt to last decade’s popular new disco strand of revivalist electro.
As it unfurls across its 8 minute track time, practically flooding the listener with its host of touch points, Party Zute / Learning to Love proves itself gorgeous, expansive and genuinely exciting.
If Oino was Sam’s announcement that he had returned – post-LOTP – and matured, Party Zute/ Learning to Love is his statement of intent as LA Priest.
The debut album, Inji, hits the stores 29th June.