Leon Vynehall nods to his past and looks to the future with his debut LP on 3024, 'Music For The Uninvited'. Vynehall has ridden a wave of vinyl resurgence and musical nostalgia, so it's only fitting that, having recorded these tracks to cassette, he notes his journey to school in his mum’s car as the main inspiration for the record.
"I grew up with tapes. I was introduced to recorded music through that medium, listening to mixed hip hop, funk and electro tapes, Janet Jackson albums, Style Council and Stiff Little Fingers. It was quite varied."
Variation is what Leon specialises in, whether he's working solo or on darker collaborations with A1 Baseline as Laszlo Dancehall. These previous efforts have for the most part been club-orientated, but this extended piece of work sees Leon striving to move in another direction. The opening track, 'Inside the Deku Tree' acts as a prologue to the collection and features a bassless, string ensemble. The strings and background static from the cassette intertwine throughout the record and act as intervals for the different acts.
'Goodthing', a more typical Vynehall track, follows a similar structure to the likes of 'Brother' and 'Mauve', with harsh cymbals and a sharp vocal sample. Although elements from previous tracks return throughout the record, no two tracks are the same. It's almost as if each song is a different thought, idea or memory.
The reflective and more relaxed track 'Be Brave, Clench Fists', and in the second half, 'Christ Air' and 'St. Sinclair', all build on Leon's ability to create abundant warmth in his soundscape,s taking a step out of the club to experiment with more atmospheric production. Even so, our highlight of the record comes on the C-side, where 'It's Just (House Of Dupree)' really cements Leon as a solid house producer. All in all, a fantastic and innovative collection of music and a great addition to Vynehall's unblemished discography.
[3024-024] will land as a double 12" on 17th March 2014 via Juno.
Words by: Stephen Daniels
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