EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: Edmondson – ‘Chestnut Ave’

If you’ve been on the nightshift this week it’s possible you’ve had a sample of this EP already, as B. Traits played ‘Don’t Stop’ on her Radio 1 show in the early hours of yesterday morning. If like us you were flat out, though, or chomping at the bit to hear more, then read on because we’ve got an exclusive preview.

To many, Edmondson will be an unfamiliar name, at least as far as electronic music is concerned, and it’s great to be able to say that if this is the case then you don’t already know him as someone else, either. He hasn’t got a more ubiquitous alter ego under which has been produced a crate-worth of records – he’s simply Edmondson, a former drummer hailing from Newcastle, now based in Sarf London, who is just getting into his stride as a producer having had his head turned by the Leeds basement party scene. His online fan base is still in the hundreds and, by his label’s own admission, he’s still a novice, but one that “shows huge potential on this EP.”

If the plug on B. Traits’ show isn’t enough to convince you of his ability, then maybe the simple fact that his sophomore release has been signed to Hypercolour will at least raise an eyebrow? If we’ve got your attention then consider this: LTJ Bukem personally asked Edmondson for some tracks off the record just last week. It might also be worth pointing out that his first EP, a four-tracker that went out on Electro Magnetic Fields in September (a sub-label of Indigo’s Mindset Records) made it all the way to the hallowed halls of Berghain and Panorama Bar, with support in the UK by the likes of Huxley.

Edmondson’s tub-thumping background went a long way to explain the broad array of grooves on the EMF release, with two-step thrown in alongside rough-and-ready 4/4 beats. ‘Chestnut Ave’ has a similar inclination to stray from house & techno; even the two most comparable, house-tinted tracks on the EP – ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘U Belong’ – are vastly different in terms of their speed and overall vibe, with the former having a lazy but soulful, melodic flow, while the latter, though somewhat brisker, does away with the harmony for a darker, minimal pulse.

It must be said that Hypercolour are spot on in their comparison of ‘Tendency’ to the work of MJ Cole, but for me it also calls to mind ‘No More Stories’, the brawny garage cut by Edmondson’s label mate, Last Magpie, although bearing somewhat less of the rudeboy tone – it’s slightly ethereal but certainly not insubstantial, with an expansive dollop of bass dropping every couple of bars to make the point. I’ve left the title track until last not because it’s the best but just because it’s the hardest to explain. In fact, this is me copping out…

The ‘Chestnut Ave’ EP is due for release on December 23rd. Check out the exclusive preview, below.

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