In a style quite befitting of his title, Glasgow-based producer Turtle (aka Jon Cooper) has surfed into 2015 atop a wave of growing interest.
Last year's Who Knows EP, a curiously compelling marriage of ambient electronica and oddball chamber-pop, whilst turning the collective head in his direction asked more questions than it gave answers. If anything, current release Lavender serves to bolster this mercurial stock. By the end of the opening minute Cooper has reasserted his adeptness in the art of subtle misdirection, as grandiose organ-based bellowing is gradually undercut by shuffling percussion and a soft but serpentine bass groove. The introduction, with equal guile, of a cyclical vocal refrain means that by its conclusion Lavender has flirted with the anthemic, without losing any grip of an enigmatic restraint which by now appears to be a Turtle trademark.
Amidst a parochial preference for the overwrought and the earnest it is perhaps unsurprising that Cooper cites influences from far and wide – Iceland's Olof Arnolds and Mum among them. For those less familiar with esoteric Scandinavian electronica this reviewer is inclined to reference the more ethereal elements harnessed by early day Moby's blending of traditional and digital instrumentation. Whilst it is of course only right to apologise to Mr Cooper if such a comparison is deemed unflattering, it is also salient to remind him that Moby is doing really rather well for himself.
- Jack Wilson
Turtle - Lavender is out now via Beatnik Creative and can be purchased here or via all good online music retailers.
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