Romare
“Breathe”
All You See (available via Bandcamp)
Imagine Romare as a musical collagist instead of a straight-up producer-DJ combo. Even the name is a clue. Born Archie Fairhurst, the U.K. artist’s moniker is an homage to Romare Bearden, the American artist and hyphenate best known for his visual collages.
That’s likely why Romare’s music feels like scraps of old, dusty records being pasted together onto a snappy new canvas, but never with too much polish. There’s always the analog color still left hanging on, weaving together a dozen influences. There’s sonic snapshots of blues, R&B, and of course electronic dance music throughout.
Consider his latest single “Breathe” as a sort of intro to Romare’s sound. It’ll be featured on his upcoming album, Oblivion, due out in September on All You See.
“Place your hand beneath your nose / feel the rhythm of the air as it moves in and out…”
It opens with a sample of someone instructing you how to literally breathe. It reminds me of the old instructional records you might find in the basement of your local library.
“Feel the movement of your breath…”
This record, however, isn’t for staying still or finding calmness. It’s meant for the dance floor.
“There’s a rhythm…”
Some might find their zen doing yoga to that sample. In Romare’s hands, it’s an instructional how-to let go in the club with a thick earworm of a bassline that slowly breaks down and becomes a chunky, distorted version of itself as the song progresses.
“There’s a rhythm in you… and if you’re very still… you can find that rhythm…”
Like the vocal sample suggests, Romare’s latest “Breathe” is active listening.
