There is nothing in the digital experience that comes close to matching the tactile feeling of visiting a record store and flipping through LPs you never heard of or knew you wanted. Bandcamp comes closest. Right when you’re convinced you’ve found it, that you’ve been accepted into the highest circles and know all of the handshakes and secret gestures to signal you’re with the fucking in-crowd, you discover some guy with 467 followers on SoundCloud and his records blow you away.
That happened here, with Javarnanda. Javarnanda is the rare synthwave artist whose appreciation of the past goes further than skin-deep: the Italian producer connects with it on a deeper level than trippy visuals and cornball scores and shows a true understanding of why synths became the second dominant instrument of the electronic age and eventually supplanted the guitar. His tracks show a flow and sophisticated progression and arrangement: these are songs, they have a beginning and an end and most importantly they do something between these two points other than beating a loop to death. Classified is his latest release, a spooky homage to the unknown, the unhappened, the unpersoned. The whistled melody is a confection that cuts the edge off of the dark rhythm and a production style that mimics the airy, isolated spaciousness of Martin Hannett.
Javarnanda: Classified (Sunlover Records)
1. Javarnanda: Classified (05:22)
First published in 5 Magazine #155 featuring 15 Years of Soul with Papa Records and Reelsoul, Lone Dancer‘s 5 Mag Mix, Andre Crom & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $1 per issue!
