Some Kind of Sign

Ernesto Ferreyra's 2010 debut album for Cadenza, the intricate and balanced El Paraiso de Las Tortugas (CADENZA 007 CD/056 LP), was something of a landmark release, not only for the Argentinean DJ and producer, but also for the minimal electronic dance scene, taking the micro-techno genre out of the clubs and into a full-length listening experience. Four years on, and Ernesto has certainly lost none of the magic and spark that made his debut album a "keeper." on Some Kind of Sign we find the producer seriously in his element, with his production aesthetics at his peak, brimming with ideas, melodies, killer hooks and wonderfully playful percussion across the 11 tracks. Aiming to go somewhat deeper and darker than his debut album, on Some Kind of Sign Ernesto endeavors to go beyond the obvious and easily-cliched elements of an electronic LP, capturing the world within the spaces, using otherworldly modulars and field recordings to take the listener to the outer reaches of the album's very heart and soul. This is an album full of elastic beats and liquid electronics, every track built around highly inventive drum programming and micro-samples. Album opener, "Still Waiting" sets the tone with bustling, yet understated, percussion, the soaring strings unfurling at the end of each phrase. It's an album filled with color; "Cristal Clear" feels like a Middle Eastern travelogue, the track awash with an almost street scene-like ambience, the purposeful percussion really transporting the listener to another space and time. "Astral" chugs along at almost a skanking pace, the shakers and drum fills keeping it a dancefloor piece while the modular synths bend and worm around the kicks. On tracks like "Underwater Lies," the synths rain down onto a dubbed-out & sultry female vocal, while the propelling electro beat and huge sub-bass carve out a most enjoyable aural (subaquatic) ride. Ferreyra really shows what he is capable of in the deep melancholy of "The Friend I've Lost," the saddest of pianos riffs grips your heart and gives it a good tight crush, douses you in reverb and pins you up against epic, taut strings - releasing you after it's two short minutes to get back to the dance on "Hide No More." the album closes on "Beluga Dance," a riotous and infectious space ride, and a fitting end to an album that most certainly finds Ferreyra stepping up another level with his highly-accomplished and polished original dance music, designed not only for the feet but for the head as well, the true hallmarks of great electronic music.