- Sydney’s own Sam Weston has been making quite the stir within the electronic music scene here in Australia. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere with Shiraz Voyager, released in April of 2016, it was met with much excitement from house fanatics the world over. Fuelling the hype with a wistful sense of nostalgia, Shiraz Voyager was released in a limited run of fifty tape cassettes, a move that seems to be gaining ground amongst the new breed of electronic music producers.

Also known as one half of techno duo Alba, Weston returns with the sumptuous Never Been In Love EP, and it’s a sure-fire winner from the start. The EP is split into two parts, which feel like two sides of the same coin. Weston is said to have retreated to the more natural landscape of WA during the creation of the EP. Having limited access to electricity, the artist was reduced to just sampling, as opposed to synthesis, which gives the release a more traditional aesthetic than the majority of its contemporary counterparts.

Kicking things off, we have Never Been In Love (Part II), jazzy piano chords and a soulful vocal cut set the scene before the pounding kick makes an appearance, driving the track with a force to be reckoned with. When those chords coupled with a delayed flute unveil themselves, you know you’re in safe hands. An ode to summer, if ever there was one, the track eases along, maintaining its much-appreciated dustiness. Electronic music can be all too clean in this day age; it’s refreshing to feel the organic warmth of sample-based music making slow and steady movements once more. The breakdown from the four-to-the-floor to a swaggering half time beat engages your head in a compulsive nod that’s hard to shake off. It’s okay to close your eyes to this one and think of hazy memories, in dimly lit nightclubs, as the first rays of sunlight begin to seep through the cracks.

On the flip side, you are treated to the thirteen minute long Don’t Save Face, and my word does this track take you on a journey. The inclusion of found-sounds littered throughout infuse a gentle humanism into the proceedings, as percussive elements appear and disappear in moments of fleeting transience.

The tracks are given time to breathe, and evolve, this is where Weston really comes into his own. Repeated listening to the cuts from the EP reveals yet more subtle layers at play throughout the duration. A far cry from the current tide of rising anticipation waiting for “the drop”, this EP harkens back to a time when house music was more about the progression of the track, the journey of the listener. Sam Weston, though he maybe a newcomer to many, is someone who knows the value of the journey, right back to the roots of house.

- Lee Evans.