Trading Places

Out today from Jezebell, two new three track EPs with a single starting point but multiple routes- Trading Places (Daytime and Nightime Versions). Jezebell are Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell. They have an Ibiza takeover imminent, and these six tracks tell the story of a night out, the ebb and flow of day to night and back again in musical form. The six tracks, Trading Places 11AM, 3PM and 6PM on the daytime EP and Trading Places 10PM, 2AM and 5AM on the Nighttime, all began with the same initial sample and span out from there, ideas shuttling between them, music as infinite possibilities. Songs begin with a single spark- an idea, a riff, a sample, a line, a beat- and the decisions taken then fix that track/ song for the creator (and for the listener at the end). The six tracks here show what can happen when you take not just one route, but several, when ideas are followed not just this way, but that way too. Endless possibilities, nothing is fixed.

Trading Places (11AM) launches the day in easy style, a low-slung start with mid- paced drums and a padding bassline. Handclaps, a repeating synth part, bubbling sounds and eventually a horn part. Take a swig, get a little perked up, it’s still before lunch, no need to go mad.

3PM is a good time to be out, the whole day and night ahead, all sorts of possibilities in front and choices to be made. The track kicks a bit harder than 11AM with a clipped, choppy  guitar riff and looped ‘ah oh oh’ backing vocal. The funk bass synth bumps away. Upbeat, feel good, nothing to worry about.

6PM. You’re in the mood now, you’ve been out for a while, everything’s nicely groovy, the sun is out and the beer is cold. The track slides in lazily, catching your attention as it builds, synths parts and some hand drums. At thirty seconds the rhythm kicks in and pulls you forwards, the kick drum becoming more insistent. The vibrating synth toplines hit and there’s the stutter of a vocal sample. A female voice weaves her way in, suddenly and unexpectedly revealing itself as Siouxsie Sioux, imperiously saying peek- a boo. The bass pushes forward wrapping itself around the track and then Siouxsie’s back, ‘strobe lights pump and flicker… that’s right now hit the floor’. Not a request, more a command.

10PM. But then without you really noticing when, it’s gone dark and you’re somewhere else, somewhere familiar but with that thrill of the unknown. Lights and sound beckon, the thump of bass and the slight breathless feeling as the bass hits, feeling in the chest. ‘You know it’s us… start the music’ the voice says, ‘no trading places…’. Hypnotic and enveloping sound, music bursting out of the speakers and into the room, building. You couldn’t stop yourself now even if you wanted to. It’s out of your hands, the music’s in control. Breakdown and whooshing sounds at five minutes in give a pause for breath but only for a moment because when that kick drum comes back you’re moving again, caught in the moment.

2AM. Oh heck. Sirens. Throbbing bass. Speakers vibrating. Senses distorted. Smoke and dry ice. Everywhere. Your friends have vanished. No matter. The people you’re dancing with are our new friends. Everyone locked in to the same moment, the same feeling. ‘You you you… get up get up’ a voice says, somewhere in the mix, behind you maybe, or above you. Another vocal, chopped up and re- arranged. Limbs moving, hair now sticky with sweat. Drinks ordered and poured. Nods of recognition on the floor as the bass comes back. Smiles. Cheers. Whistles.

5AM. It’s late now. Or early, difficult to tell which. The voice is back, the one saying, ‘you know it’s us’. Things are slowing down slightly, the groove less insistent, the tempo a little slower. The voice there again, ‘Leave no traces/ Know your rights/ No trading places’. But things aren’t really easing up, the groove is still strong, the snare still cracking, the bass wanting to push you for one last spin round the floor, no let up even now, lost in it all. At dawn.

Both EPs are available from Bandcamp from today, Daytime Versions are here and Nighttime Versions are here. I recommend both as you can probably tell.