Lee Jones - The Moose Mingles

Lee Jones
The Moose Mingles
Aus Music

It’s quite clear when you listen to Lee Jones’ music that he has been producing for well over a decade. Always relevant and current, but never one to jump on the bandwagon, Jones is able to take the sounds of now and inject his own individual style, making him one of the most consistently on-form producers of our time. This eight track (four digi-only) EP is no exception.

Moment is a mixture of two vibes in one: jazzy, fun and dripping with funk, but also quirky and full of tension and atmosphere. The driving, up-tempo kick and hats rhythm, bouncy analogue bass stabs and funky guitar licks give the track a playful feel, but the bizarre vocals, off-kilter bleeps and squeaks, slightly sinister chords and old school breaks make it feel decidedly freaky at exactly the right moments.



George Fitzgerald’s remix is possibly the straightest, most linear piece of work he has ever released, and it demonstrates that he is just a great producer all-round, rather than only exceptionally good at the house/techno/garage hybrid niche he helped create. Fitzgerald takes the vocals from the original and places them atop of a meticulously constructed structure of 909 kicks, claps, hats and rim shots, subtle bass stabs, enveloping pads and chords, and Detroit techno inspired synths.

Hot Natured-esque house vibes are the order of the day on Duvel, and while this particular reviewer is not a fan of said style, Lee injects just the right amount of interest and individuality into the cut to elevate it above the rest of the output from the Hot Natured clones. Cut-up vocals, aggressive bass hits and detuned trumpet samples stutter along above low-slung percussive rhythms, and there’s enough variety in the way the various sounds come in and out of the mix to keep it interesting the whole way. Midland turns Duvel into a peak-time slammer, stretching out the vocals into eerie chants, swapping the percussion for phat kicks, distorted hats and claps, filtering the bassline right down and adding in a big-room synth loop.



The digi-only parts of the EP range from a more melodic, stripped-down version of Moment which turns it into a smooth deep house track, to more quirky vibes with Splange which is carried by a high-pitched acid line, as well as some dark room goodness courtesy of Uhrsome and Westworld, two chunky rollers packed with organic percussion and instrumentation. If its value for money you’re after, you won’t do much better than this.

 
Listen on Lee Jones on Pulse Radio