In July, I posted one of my favorite discoveries of the year: an EP called Clara by the artist Macsen, a tropical-house/disco-house artist. Unfortunately, Clara was removed from Soundcloud shortly after my post, as there were some disagreements between Macsen and his producer. Rest assured, Macsen informed me that he would be re-emerging under a different name, where he would re-release Clara in some form.
The general intent of this post is to provide listeners who didn’t get a chance to check out the ingenious Clara an opportunity to. Now under the alias Lucian, he has re-released the Clara EP and re-named it the Rekla EP. The self-titled track on Rekla is the same as the self-titled track on Clara, and it’s pure genius. As I previously wrote, Lucian’s fluid sample-laden pop and tropical emphasis is delightfully reminiscent of The Avalanches’ classic album Since I Left You at several points. Gems like “Tobias”, with its ticklish and sweet synth trickles and woodwind flourishes, reminds of Swedish atmosphere-pop greats Air France, while the jukebox-sampling dance party of “Life Won’t Wait” reminds of Avalanches bangers like “Live at Dominoes“.
“Rekla”, meanwhile, seems ripe for club-bound remixing. Cut-up vocal samples – “need your loving” – surround a swelling assortment of warbly synths and massive percussion, before a synth arpeggio allows the sampled vocal lead to deliver with more clarity. A dirty-funky breakdown around 01:20 is perfectly executed, as is the surprise emergence of a string section around 02:17. The remainder of the track features guitar distortion, a climactic rhythm section, and synth flourishes that make it one of the most infectiously delightful electro tracks I’ve heard this year. Stream the rest of the excellent Rekla EP below:
‘Tobias’ has some really pretty moments…