Perfume is the collaboration between Craig Wells (UK) and Mathias Loose (DK), two sound artists who have both made their home in Bergen, Norway. Perfume represents a new way of working for the pair, as they infuse lush, textured field recordings and composition with elements of electro, ambient and atmospheric instrumental hip-hop, inviting comparisons with the complex productions of Flying Lotus, Four Tet, or Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Together, Wells and Loose create a rich tapestry that weaves between analogue breaks and sampled, acoustic sounds evoking ecology and nature.
Central to Perfume’s method is working in a space between sound art and music, employing a large performance ecology built from the duo’s custom-made instruments. Everyday objects are amplified and augmented, while obscure, often discarded sounds are woven into polyrhythmic tapestries where vocal shards and extended jazz chords dissolve into an intimate headspace. Seductive, cinematic, sensual and exquisitely beautiful, the 3 tracks defy a single genre classification, meandering through laid-back progressions with intricately-fused melodies which borrow from world music, folk, Afrobeat and further afield.
On the 18th of May, the first cut from their forthcoming EP ‘Moonspeed’ was premiered by XLR8R, comparing the track to the likes of LA heavy hitters Stones Throw and Brainfeeder. With already a stream of praise to their name, the full EP drop – 26.05.17 via Hot Gem – is sure to turn some heads as listeners will be able to fully divulge the mysterious duo’s exploration of analogue synthesis.
