Hush Hush goes for an emotional dive into warm, woozy, vocal-laced disco/house territory with 'Fountains,' a confident 3-track collaboration between Manchester, UK-based DJ/producer Two Tail (Ted Scoltock) and Denver-based producer/vocalist combo Quiett (Sam Leffers and Kevin Hake), due out digitally and on cassette July 28th.
The two members of Quiett originally connected over a decade ago as high school classmates and budding musicians in Fort Wayne, Indiana. While earlier projects from the pair showcased an evolving fusion of Sam’s love for hip-hop and jazz with Kevin's early forays in emo, folk, and Americana, their re-location to Denver and launch of the Quiett name signals a confident step forward into an effortlessly smooth and romantic vocal house sound. Their first official release finds them teaming up with Two Tail, the emerging 20 year-old DJ, producer, and edit maestro quickly making a name for himself in the underground disco and house community. Together, they’ve seamlessly created a loving and nostalgic ode to a melodramatic dancefloor.
Hake's vocals showcase a whispery, restrained style that draws the listener close. Leffers and Scoltock share production duties, crafting lush and pulsing instrumentals filled with the kind of suitcase electric pianos, soaring saxophone leads and pillowy atmospherics you'd expect from a late 70s lounge record. Over the release’s three standout original cuts, Two Tail and Quiett consistently display a mature, sophisticated, in-the-pocket groove, enhanced with a touch of laid-back stoicism.
All three musicians are part of the Outsourced Collective, a group founded by Scoltock and fellow Manchester native Aleks Zurawski that brings together a diverse range of blossoming international artists creating emotional, restrained sounds free of strict genre confines. This all-embracing mentality finds a kindred spirit within the labor-of-love, DIY ethos of Seattle’s Hush Hush Records.
credits
released July 28, 2017
Production and arrangement by Ted Scoltock & Sam Leffers.
Vocals by Kevin Hake.
Mastered by Wouter Brandenburg.
Cover artwork by Charlie Wood.
Tape layout by Nathan Lincoln.
We have this album on more than we can say....as a soundtrack for a 'room' we listen as such- a perfect soundscape for thinking, not thinking, doing, not doing........ss/am editions vaché
Every sound on this album feels purposefully made to bring you back in time to a place of you never knew but at the same time are familiar with. It almost forces you to look inward while the beautiful and somewhat pained repetition envelopes you. Albums like these are truly special. Great work Zach and to everyone involved. deathcabbage
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Cool, controlled electronic music that relies on a steady bass pulse, tiny ripples of synth, and delicate vocal lines. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 28, 2018
The Sails is a sonic journey that takes the listener from the familiar to the alien and keeps your foot tapping the whole way. Rhythm is driven by layers of bass, synths and samples often without a drum track.
Give Still a listen, a glorious riot to take your ears on an adventure. Also, who else is writing 9 minutes long tracks any more?
@mohlers pick for best of 22 Album Club