They’re cleaning up after the band played for a small and mostly distracted audience. It’s late and you’re one of the last one’s standing at the neighborhood bar or lounge, everyone else has sunk into the fake leather booths or has slunk off in search of someplace with a 4am liquor license. The bartender’s humming to himself, the barback leans on the keys of the piano, plucking out a few accidental, sparse chords and one of the folks lost in the couch cushions pulls a set of souvenir bongos off the walls and starts playing along.
I stole the outlines of that scenario from a Dan Hartman video, but it’s a plausible aesthetic for “Pressure,” a new single from Eddie Leader and Chez Damier (under the guise of his “Kids In The Streets” alias). It’s an afterhours jam, a small masterpiece for those lucky enough to have been there. For those who know.
Apparently the real story is not that far off: a canceled flight, a drive from London to Manchester and then some outtakes from a post-show studio session. The vibe is fun but casual, ad hoc in a sense — just a few machines and a few pairs of hands to work them, with Chez’s vocal starting off like those old Lightnin’ Hopkins Sunday school tapes and the chatter before he hit the first chord. Instead of a guitar they hit the keys — tones drawn in pencil and watercolors, outlines that curve and pool together in unexpected bursts of sound and shape. For some people this is late night music. It’s early morning for some and some of us live our whole lives at an afterhours tempo. All four tracks are mixed for different occasions — instrumental, dub and dubstrumental — for whatever time you’re awake.
⚪️ Pressure Tracklisting
Eddie Leader ft. Kids in the Streets: Pressure (Hudd Traxx / 12" Vinyl + Digital)
1. Pressure
2. Pressure (Instrumental)
3. Pressure (Dub)
4. Pressure (Dubstrumental)
⚪️ Disclosure Statement
This record was submitted as a promo.
⚪️ Previous Coverage
⚪️ Chez Damier to launch his first ever radio residency (2021)
⚪️ Hudd Traxx celebrates the Here & Now on a 10 track compilation of new music (2021)
⚪️ Eddie Leader and Alexander East team up on “Get You Alone” (2021)
⚪️ Label Profile: Eddie Leader and Hudd Traxx (2011)
⚪️ Chez Damier: A Revolutionary Life (2011)
5 Mag Issue 208
Out July 2023
WE STILL CALL IT HOUSE: This was originally published in 5 Mag Issue #208 featuring the story of Chicago house music collective 3 Degrees Global, a tribute to DJ Deeon, a cover mix by and profile of Gratts, Detroit vocalist Diviniti, John Davis of the disco’s scariest orchestra, the great vanishing of pirate sites more. Help keep our vibe alive by becoming a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right away!
