- I don’t think it should come as a surprise that with the growing camps of classically-trained indie composers Australia’s contribution to this niche sees one of its brightest arise from the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. For the all the cinematic opportunity and rustic calibration, Anatole’s debut album Emulsions emerges as a welcome bridge between the communal spirit of beat culture and the isolated reflections of the classical fringe.
Having grown up amongst orchestras and studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, it’s understandable that Jonathan Baker’s attraction to the less conventional was catalysed by Flying Lotus. The two composers both seek an interdisciplinary approach to popular music. Emulsions, amongst its literal approach, does present a charming interplay between sustained acoustic breath and the pragmatic decay of machines, acoustic instruments played or sampled become obfuscated from their immediate humanity by leaning into a deeper entanglement with modern tools. And as the album’s early tracks slice off momentary dalliances with downtempo beats and graduating motifs, the same light-footed joys present in Jonsi’s solo efforts and the spiritual cadence of Flying Lotus’ later catalog are to be found early on in singles Only One and Outgrown. Their feature artists, IDA and Tom Iansek of Big Scary, respectively bring a closer individual sentiment and an increasing pop sensibility to Anatole’s expansive production.
It becomes increasingly clear that as the drum and bass qualities of Forest From The Trees congeal, its meticulous occupation with poly-rhythmic riffs and counter-melody reveal that we’ve experienced contemporary songs’ limits in nurturing both experimentalism and the allure of conventional genre. It’s not a disservice to the album or Anatole’s practice but speaks to a broader desire to access the mystical without losing you way in the abstract. When Herbie Hancock released Head Hunters in 1973, he used traditional African instruments, R’n’B grooves and the newest synthesisers in an effort to make lighter music, something a little more approachable, and yet Herbie still ripped jazz-informed solos across this fusion providing an elevated experience amongst the seemingly disparate parts.
Where Anatole succeeds is that he samples and shares the nerdier, abstract factions of contemporary composition by sampling Olafur Arnalds whilst also welcoming the alternative pop of Braille Face without becoming unstuck. Although, it’s important to note that Anatole’s Emulsion separates as it relaxes. The album closes upon reflective ambient chambers, swells of acoustica and a sense that while you can hear his intricate and attentive process, even amongst the more boisterous, much like Herbie Anatole can’t escape the formative characteristics of his training and doesn’t need to hold firm in order to offer equally exploratory and accommodating music.
- Nick Rodwell.