PREMIERE: Lapalace - Ephemera [ITI#22]

Announcing their debut for Insult To Injury Records, Manchester based newcomer, Lapalace, has furnished the good ship ITI with three ambitious, epic cuts of divergent dance destroyers that touch on Ambient, Jungle and everything in between! Lily Mumby, the creative brain box behind the project, has a no limits approach to her sound palette, with a range of inspiration from William Basinski, to Autechre and Lorn. Backed up by a break-tastic remix from the mighty Thugwidow, Lapalace’s Ephemera EP is a tour de force debut that will have disc jockeys rejoicing, the world over. Titular piece Ephemera kicks things off with a trademark Lapalace soundscape, blending both field recordings from the natural world and synthesised sounds, all mixed with a touch of nostalgic 90s keyboard work. The climatic drop manages to be both beautiful and aggressively caustic simultaneously, as hazy, evocative chords meet a thoroughly pugnacious drum breakbeat! Tired Eyes slows the pace a little, immersing the listener in an audio bath of retro, cavernous strings that create a celestial soundscape of truly divine proportions. Constance continues on the downtempo tip, fading into view with its arpeggios darting up and down, underpinned by a frightfully hefty bass line. This tranquil beginning transpires to be a red herring, however, as the drums kick in hallway through and transform the ambience into a full throttle, no nonsense, breakbeat behemoth! ITI Records are very excited to have Thugwidow on remix duties, as we’ve been a fan of his music for some time. He does’t disappoint here either, as he ‘breaks’ Ephemera into tiny pieces and rebuilds it in his own image. Make no mistake, this is a dance floor demolisher of the highest pedigree! As the name suggests, the original mix of Ephemera is a rather brief affair, so Lapalace has worked their magic and concocted an Extended 12” Mix for all you lovely club DJ’s. Taking the elements from the original and adding a few extra, this lengthier version lets the music breathe, taking it’s time as it effortlessly glides along, before slapping us around the chops with that final break. To which we can only say, Amen Brother!