Stems & Gems

Polish producer Emapea returns to Cold Busted with Stems & Gems, his first album of new material for the label in seven years. The twelve-track set renews a long-running relationship between Emapea and Cold Busted while adding an entirely new collection of beats to his catalog.Stems & Gems has the easy, unhurried feel that Emapea does so well, with dusty drums and chopped samples at the center of the record. Soul and jazz colors run throughout, joined by warm basslines, keys, guitar, vocal snippets, and plenty of small production turns that keep the tracks moving. "End Of Nowhere" sets the pace before the album works it's way through the head-nod of "Late Bloomers" and "Fractal Puzzle," the lighter pull of "Lili In The Sky" and "Tropical Sunset," and the after-hours feel of "Shadows" and "Very Late Night." There's plenty of variation across the twelve cuts, but they sit together naturally as one record.Seven years may have passed since Emapea's last new album for Cold Busted, but Stems & Gems isn't presented as a comeback. Instead, this is a return to a label partnership that has been an important part of his catalog - twelve brand-new tracks that bring Emapea and Cold Busted back together again.