Teengirl Fantasy - Motif (12" vinyl)

R&S have done right to pick up on Teengirl Fantasy a.k.a New York-based lads Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss. The duo’s punk rock attitude to classic house and techno themes and their insistence on using real synths as opposed to a load of laptop toss made their ‘7 AM’ LP on Merok a must-own purchase.

Now the duo are gearing up for record number II with a 12” entitled ‘Motif’ that begins out as a masterclass in ambient dreamy dance-pop before kicking out the jams - mashing classic piano-based chord hits with acid inspired sequencing and a host of other cheeky production tricks. The effect is a tune that constantly retreats into itself before returning for another bout of euphoric beat magic. It’s pretty insane to get your head around structurally but the tones and melodies have a unique language and character of their own which makes for fine listening.

The scoop (and no doubt the big selling point) will be the Actress mix on the B-side. Lets flip this baby over and see what it sounds like yeah?
First up it’s ‘Eternal’ - a taster from the up-and-coming album and a chance to indulge yourself in some proper ‘coming up’ festival friendly techno fun. This one sees the synths duel it out to see who can excite the people most. Love the effortless nature of this feel good party tune right down to the propulsive Balearic chord breakdowns as the track progresses. It’s a slightly clumsy, heavy-handed affair but it’s all the better for it.

Right - now it’s Actress remix time. Here Darren Cunningham strips ‘Motif’ back to bare bones leaving only a naggingly simplistic, super deep bass groove, an ultra minimalist beat and a strange percussive shimmer that is unidentifiable to my ear. This kinda minimalist acid inspired bass-line will always leave me coming back for more. Great 12”. I’ll look forward to the impending long-playa.