House tracks don’t come much more direct than Breach’s “Jack.” With little more than a stripped-to-the-bone drum groove, an octave-plunging bass line, and an irresistible vocal hook (“I want your body / Everybody wants your body / So let’s jack”), his 2013 single for Dirtybird neatly summed up the fusion of underground sensibilities and populist outreach, and it went to No. 9 in the U.K. singles charts in the process.
But with his new EP for Will Saul’s Aus Music, Breach (the clubby alter ego of Ben Westbeech) edges away from the spotlight and back towards deeper, murkier climes, with misted white noise and bittersweet organs that faintly recall DJ Koze’s sentimental shufflers. As before, it’s a model of simplicity, but this time watery melancholy is the aim, rather than heavy-breathing minimalism.
Breach’s Artis EP is out April 21 on 12-inch vinyl and digital download; it features the title track, “Ode Oshi,” and “This One’s for You You Know Who You Were.” Somewhere out there, someone’s ears are burning.
