Listen: Moslem Priest - "House Arrest"
It’s really nice when you stumble across some particularly different dance-oriented music. In a very, very saturated domain of the music world, discovering some bright, unique thing is great when you’re surrounded on all sides by “future” music, “retro” stuff, or that darkness which has befallen our land like a horde of angry orcs: EDM. I paint a bleak, reductionist picture (sorry), but it’s not all that bad really. What’s that quote? “Variety is the spice of life”?
Variety is certainly the keyword when introducing Kuala Lumpur-based Moslem Priest, a musicmaker with a true talent and passionate penchant for beats. The first track of his I heard was “Real Swimmin”, a Dadaist collage of sounds from gunshots and running water, to phones ringing and an alien-esque vocal sample, all set to foundation-shaking sub-bass. It was real evidence of greatness at work.
Priest’s latest track, “House Arrest”, isn’t short on his collage-creating style: percussive sounds of all shapes and sizes scattered into the depths of a foot-tapping breakbeats rhythm. Taiko drums, shuffling hi-hats, guns cocking, echoing woodblocks and what could be a pitch-shifted sample of someone eating something crunchy all join together in complex patterns as nebulous waves of ectoplasmic synth sound hover in and out of earshot. It’s a veritable orchestra of cold, brutal sounds - some sharp, some blunt, others somewhere in-between - but all arranged for a dynamic assault on your person. Deal with it.
And this guy is prolific, having at least three albums’ worth of songs uploaded onto his Soundcloud (which we sincerely recommend checking out). “House Arrest” is available now as a free download.
- Night Moves announce first album in six years, Double Life
- Jenny Hval presents new single, "The artist is absent"
- Bobby Weir to play first London show in 22 years at Royal Albert Hall with Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
- Ezra Collective announce Future Foundation initiative for young black women in music
- Gracie Abrams releases live performance of new song, "Death Wish"
- Jerskin Fendrix returns with new single, "Jerskin Fendrix Freestyle"
- Bright Eyes and Cursive unveil mash-up single, "Recluse I Don't Have To Love"
Get the Best Fit take on the week in music direct to your inbox every Friday