Fauve is the new release out next week through Better On Foot that features duo Floral Fauna. Formed in Baltimore last September after street musician Ony teamed up with Rhodes player Rob Fontana.
With a focus on improvisation Floral Fauna produce tracks inspired by disco and jazz. The EP's name, Fauve, is a reference to Fauvism, a period of expressionism within art where artists took to vibrant strokes and colours to convey feelings rather than realism.
Fauve is a fitting description for this EP that paints more in mood than in the literal medium of lyrics. The vocals on Visions sound like they have been gently placed atop the music rather than imprinted on it - the improvised sense of this music suggests the moments, rhythm and melody are more important than the contents.
Lift It is similarly casual, the vocals reverberating around a staggered chord sequence that gives the track a gentle tumbling sensation. Final track Mysteries plays with heavy vibes whilst the vocals take the foreground for once, the hook detailing a timid lover struggling to come forth and declare his affection.
There is a relaxed playful experimentation to this music that reminds me of a more soulful and disco-influenced version of Cody Chestnutt's cult classic debut album The Headphone Masterpiece. In other words, there is a lo-fi, sexy effortlessness to Fauve that is hard to resist. Particularly on that last track.
Kevin Yost has been a supported and so the EP includes a deep house remix of Visions. Textually Yost takes the track to a wholly different place, the record full of ambience and shuffling beats in place of the original's raw sass, but it provides a crisp reimagining that fits with the mood of the EP.
Fauve is released on 24 February through Better On Foot and is available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link]. Listen to Visions on Soundcloud above.