What makes electronic music so captivating as an art form is its wide reach of sound and the way it’s so easy to reshape into something entirely new and unique. This is something that Manatee Commune, the project of Seattle-based producer Grant Eadie, realizes and allows his music to stay fresh by trying new things. His newest album, Simultaneity, which arrives this Friday, July 19, is emblematic of that by expanding on his style rooted in tropical synthpop and EDM with more lush and atmospheric textures inspired by ambient music. For its entire runtime, Simultaneity balances layers of samples and sounds into lush, hypnotizing melodies, yet remains danceable enough to show off Manatee Commune’s versatility. It balances club-oriented rhythms and brassy synths that’s made him an in-demand remixer, while still providing something new from his prior work.
I wouldn’t say the style and approach to dance music that Simultaneity follows is entirely unique. There are many electronic subgenres that clearly serve as reference points, such as ambient house/techno and micro house. Other artists have deviated from the EDM formula by also incorporating offbeat sonic atmospheres, pitch-shifted samples, and stripped-back instrumentation. Still, all the tracks are quality-made, with each of them having something interesting to provide. The album is a mix of more club-friendly songs with a focus on groove and rhythm, and songs that combine dance beats with soft, pillowy textures that are soothing and calming. These latter songs follow the rule of ambient music coined by Brian Eno, which is that “it must be as ignorable as it is interesting”, though that’s not at all an insult.
Simultaneity opens with “Love Tone”, which is more of an intro than a real track, focusing on ambiance and tranquility to set the mood. It’s a palette cleanser or a loading screen into the rest of the album and serves as a showcase for Eadie’s producing talents for each track. The more ambient-influenced songs are more intimate and domestic, and feature dozens of odd but strangely beautiful sounds and timbres. As someone who isn’t a musician, I admittedly wouldn’t know how Eadie produced much of the album. Calling the album “beautiful noises” isn’t quite descriptive, but it’s how I felt during many of the tracks here. Songs like “Amaat One” and “Cast” are rhythmic but feel like entire worlds in their sense of space. I feel like I can reach out and touch every element of them. The album closer, “Touch Theme”, has synth and orchestral passages so emotive and beautiful that it reminded me of “The Big Ship” by Brian Eno.
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The album isn’t perfect, as its focus on vibes and contemplation can be wearisome for a more impatient listener and certain tracks can feel their length. I enjoyed the groovier EDM songs like “Cycline” and the African-inspired “Closure”, but they can contrast too much with other tracks that are meditative as opposed to danceable. Still, Simultaneity is a solid and consistent LP that has something to offer for Manatee Commune’s listeners or fans of electronic music. It has songs to get a party started, as well as songs to mellow out and relax to. Few albums can strike that kind of balance.
Get your tickets to the album release show August 29th at Neumos in Seattle.
