- Music
- 09 Feb 24
Chilled vibes from electro-acoustic outsider. 7/10
It’s hard work sounding as laid-back as electro-composer and furtive folkie Roberto Carlos Lange, better known as Helado Negro, does throughout his wonderful eighth studio album. Balmy and blissful, PHASOR invites the listener to take a walk on the mild side. In the process Lange achieves a near miracle in delivering an LP that serves up 15 flavours of wistful without ever teetering on twee.
PHASOR is ferociously feel-good, imparting a bittersweet ache that lingers. Fuelled by acoustic guitar and Spanish vocals, opener ‘LFO (Lupe Finds Oliveros)’ is a ditty that doubles as a valentine to two heroes of this Florida-raised son of Ecuadorian immigrants.
“Lupe” is Lupe Lopez, a Mexican-American technician who built amplifiers for Fender in the ’50s (they are coveted to this day). “Oliveros” meanwhile refers to Pauline Oliveros, the post-war experimental music composer who coined the concept of “deep listening”, which involves absorbing not only a piece of music, but also background noises and the wider ambience of your environment.
The track is a jumping-off point for a project that argues fiercely that we should take life a little less seriously (Lang has spoken about the “ambient stress” of “endless scrolling” on our phones).
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Stuttering synths and balmy grooves blend wonderfully on ‘I Just Want To Wake Up With You’, while the bass-fuelled ‘Echo Tricks Me’ is medicated euphoria captured on vinyl. The beautifully soothing affair finally concludes with ‘Es Una Fantasia’. The strumming number, again performed in Spanish, confirms Lange – whose stage name translates as “Black Ice Cream” – as king of the wonky comedown.
7/10