Touched EP

It is imperative, upon stepping into Blondes' dense, swirling universe, to let go of any notions of category or classification, for this is music which easily evades such moribund concepts. Instead, the pair's vein of dance music - all hypnotic minimal chords, pulsing in layered textures over slowed down house rhythms - is entirely its own beast, with the Brooklyn duo of Zach Steinman and Sam Haar forgoing traditional song structures in favor of what they term "ecstatic trance" - a semi-improvisational sound based entirely on feeling, dancing, rising and falling. Although Steinman initially hailed from a punk background in San Francisco, with Haar coming in at the other end of the spectrum with an interest in experimental electronica, the pair have absorbed everything from krautrock, new age, nu-disco, even Manuel Göttsching and Top 40 hits to create a Blondes sound like no other; one which places intuition and emotion at its core over meticulous production. Indeed, the pair considers themselves first and foremost "instrumentalists" over "producers," and the distinction here is entirely discernible, in the pulsating, manifold soundscapes of the sprawling "Moondance," the eerie and haunting slow-build of "Spanish Fly," or the majestic sea-breeze crescendo of "Virgin Pacific." With future plans going far beyond the conventional (such as creating a musical/visual installation in Switzerland), this EP on the ever progressive Merok (also responsible for bringing the similarly radical likes of Crystal Castles, Teengirl Fantasy and Salem to light) provides a scintillating first glimpse into Blondes' deeply compelling alternate dimension.