On his more modest, though still charming, follow-up to 2021's ambitious Overtones for the Omniverse, Los Angeles-based composer and producer Mocky offers up a set of gently funky instrumentals with a breezy tone and loosey-goosey feel. Recorded to analog tape on mostly vintage gear, the project takes its name from Mocky's decision to avoid using a click track and instead rely on the body's instinctual tempos, which he dubs goosebumps per minute. Listening to his elastic basslines and satisfying synth leads, the GPMs (as ...
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On his more modest, though still charming, follow-up to 2021's ambitious Overtones for the Omniverse, Los Angeles-based composer and producer Mocky offers up a set of gently funky instrumentals with a breezy tone and loosey-goosey feel. Recorded to analog tape on mostly vintage gear, the project takes its name from Mocky's decision to avoid using a click track and instead rely on the body's instinctual tempos, which he dubs goosebumps per minute. Listening to his elastic basslines and satisfying synth leads, the GPMs (as opposed to the industry-standard BMPs, or beats per minute) are felt more than heard, which is most certainly his intent. On cuts like the shuffling "Air Pockets" and the languorous "Mellow Dynamics," Mocky's affection for lush, mid-century lounge arrangements meshes with the head-nodding '70s grooves that are his bread and butter. His signature palette of strings, harps, flutes, and vintage synthesizers gives these tracks some needed depth, though at its core Goosebumps Per Minute seems more like an exercise in groove-building. Thematically, it plays more like the afterparty to Overtones' main event, which is just fine because the afterparty is where the fun is. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi
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