2013 marked a substantial change in the timbre of London-based singer-songwriter Barbarossa. Born James Mathé, Barbarossa used his Bloodlines LP to abandon his acoustic folk for potent grooves and jagged synths. This year, Mathé is delving further into the world of electronic music. In addition to scoring English independent film White, Mathé is preparing to release Elevator, a four track EP due out on June 16 via Memphis Industries. On the EP’s title-track, a cinematic trudge features soulful croons over a litnay of electronic elements; supple keyboards, delicate synths, and deliberate, synthetic drums play their part. That said, the minimalism of his earlier works are still present; every electonic bleep and bloop on the track feels snug and necessary.
Stream Elevator’s title-track below and pre-order the EP it now.
