citizen

EP Review: Room Service - Citizen

Just in time for the (very delayed and probably very brief) British summer comes this hot and steamy release on Love Fever Records from Citizen.

Love Fever were born out of underground parties in London's east end and their sound is heavy on a sleazy erotica inspired by those parties and liberally applied to tech-house. Citizen is the alter-ego of South Londoner Laurence Blake and here he delivers three hot and sweaty electronic workouts.

The EP opens with title track 'Room Service' on the a-side, a large echoey track with soft, soulful vocals in juxtaposition to rough layers of distorted synthesiser. Blake teams up with Detroit's Jimmy Edgar on 'Deeper Touch' and they create a slightly softer but snappy techno track with snippets of drum patterns and bass layered together whilst a female vocal is twisted and manipulated over the top.

The second solo cut and final track on the EP is Citizen's 'You Give Me That Something' and it's the best of the three. A cow bell melody builds an warm, open atmosphere whilst another soulful male vocal builds to a drop that rewards listeners with warm pads and a deep, dubby bass line. It's the most fully realised track here and wraps you in a warm stillness perfect for outdoor dancing. Roll on summer!

Room Service is released on Love Fever on Monday.