Elderbrook has been a regular feature on our weekend playlists, and with the release of his second EP Travel Slow, now is about time we gave him more space on these pages.
We first wrapped our ears around Elderbrook’s cool-as-fuck grooves last year when he released Could, alongside a striking painted video, and Travel Slow builds on that with three new compositions
The man behind the music, 21-year-old multi-instrumentalist and producer Alex Kotz, kicks off the EP with Be There Soon, building on the barritone crooning R&B foundations laid by the likes of Jamie Woon, Fyfe, and Jamie XX.
Good Enough brings down the BPM with a touch of melancholy, but the sounds remain smooth and the groove keeps the feet tapping. Giving Kotz’s vocals room to show their own beauty, the track strips back the other elements to little more than a guitar, snaps, hats, and a little bass drum to maintain the flow.
Meanwhile, on title track Travel Slow Elderbrook plays with some more inventive and experimental polyrhythms, twisting tempos and sounds beneath his slow and reserved voice.
That’s two EPs of near perfect downtempo R&B from the London-based producer. Damn.
Elderbrook – Travel Slow is out now on Black Butter Records.
