Link to our Facebook
Link to our Instagram
Link to our TikTok

Live Review: Vegas Collie Takes Us Straight To The Future With His Debut EP 'BTWN friends'

22 April 2016 | 10:14 am | Caitlin Medcalf

Vegas Collie has been sitting on a gold mine, and that is his debut EP under the Vegas Collie moniker.

Possibly the worst and most daunting experience of a bedroom producer's career is deciding when that EP is finally ready. When that body of work stops being rinsed through the edit cycle and comes out the other side as something clean and meticulous, yet filled with raw and articulate intention.

VEGAS COLLIE, a bedroom producer from Sydney, is the epitome of this. Sitting on beats for months at a time, some much longer than that, he hones and adapts his craft to his skill and the sounds that he hears around him.

He's been sitting on a gold mine, and that is his debut EP under the Vegas Collie moniker.

Plug into the latest music with our FREE weekly newsletter

'btwn friends' came about through multiple trial and error efforts. Forever honing and tackling new and risky beats, he's come out the other side with a clean body of work that not only accentuates what it means to be a modern producer, but what it means to be creative too.

More importantly, he's cited Cassius Select as possibly one of his biggest inspirations. Saying that seeing him live gave him the drive to push forward with this project, BTWN friends wouldn't have happened without this.

Also taking influence from the likes of Tim HeckerFlying Lotus and more, it's a nod to the future classics. He wears his inspirations on his sleeve and uses them as exactly that; inspiration. It's clear that he feels no need to copy or imitate because what he's created for himself is ultimately his and no one else's.

'Surface Noise' pulses like a heartbeat but hits harder as the track progresses. Percussion is key in this one, as is rhythm. The age old argument of whether or not dance music is authentic because of its lack of "real instruments" feels so aptly wrong in this context. 'Surface Noise' is something else entirely. Noises. However, they're calculated noises which boast a kind of precision that only electronic music can capture.

It's atmospheric yet straight to the point and by the end of the EP, you'll hear that this is a recurring theme.

He plays on the hyper-sensitivity of the ear with 'In Waves' and 'Ain't Nuttin', creating an atmospheric sort of paranoia with layers upon layers of future beats and vocal samples. It's minimal but extensive, something most artists tend to find a struggle with.

We're left with the hero of the EP, 'Un/Du'. Clocking in at almost five minutes, it gives the illusion of space with an intense focus on playing with the potential that samples have. Utilising vocals in such a way that makes them instrumental and not melodic, it's a choice way to round off this stellar first offering.

I can't imagine how hard it is to tackle future beats, leat alone making them sound alternate and completely your own. What with so many incredible heavyweights out there, Vegas Collie has more than proved that he can hold his own with this first offering.

SEE ALSO: