Welcome mix of techno beats
Cooper Saver “Pacifico” (Biologic)
The producer who makes the magnetic minimal house music under the Cooper Saver moniker has been busy with multiple releases this year, and L.A.’s the better for it. Hardly known for its house and techno innovations, the region has been more affiliated with touchyfeely, optimistic EDM and G-funk-driven beats than for the spacially vast, melodically driven mechanical stuff born in Detroit, Chicago and Berlin.
Cooper Saver’s technoforward aesthetic is on full display in his recent mix for Berlin-based dance music tip-sheet Resident Advisor. A set that jumps from classic synth works and remixes from Chris & Cosey, the Human League and progressive trance producer Human Blue to contemporary experimental beats by Los Angeles producer Eddie Ruscha (under his Secret Circuit moniker), Norwegian artist Prins Thomas and Ivory Coast rhythm expert Mr. Raoul K, the hourlong dance mix showcases a DJ with good taste and style.
Need more proof? His Dublab show, “Far Away,” which doubles as a club night and mixtape series, is an indispensable part of L.A. beat culture.
“Pacifico,” the artist’s EP from early summer, opens with a set of interlocking rhythms connecting a fouron-the-floor bass drum, vibraphone-suggestive mid-range loops, a conga in the background and some crazy high-hat action. With a graceful, gradual build that extends across the track’s first two minutes, Cooper Saver harnesses analogsynth tones in service of a dynamic instrumental feat whose very title seems to celebrate the region. (Or maybe the song’s about the beer?)
Grand Canyon “November Rain” (Bodan Kuma)
The half-dozen wellpracticed rock musicians who perform as Grand Canyon don’t futz around. A band that taps the rich vein of electrified American music as purveyed by artists including Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, Grand Canyon delivers its cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” on its recent EP “Yesterday’s News” with a reverence usually reserved for iconic works by Woody Guthrie or Muddy Waters. Singerguitarist Casey Shea delivers Axl Rose’s song with way less yowling than the original, and co-founder Amy Wilcox adds delicate backing vocals to further distinguish their take.