Producers on the Rise: Glenn Astro

Glenn Astro – a name that has seemingly popped up from nowhere since last summer, at least between plenty of producer friends and myself. Glenn finds himself on a shortlist of contemporaries like Max Graef, Frits Wentink, and IMYRMIND who have pushed through the membrane of simply referring to their work as ‘experimental’ and exploring a new frontier in the jazzy, broken beat alternative path to house music. In our dictionary, being a Producer on the Rise doesn’t mean you have a popular sound that’s hot today and gone tomorrow, but instead distinguishes you’ve found a different approach to dance music and, more importantly, you’ve owned that sound. Glenn has his sound and, at the moment, he’s paving a bright future for himself.

Exhibit A (listen above) is a recent remix for Pulse Records and a signature for Glenn’s sound. The lazy chords and churning drums give way to a hazy, smoky, and hypnotic bassline. The simplicity of the chord progression is the absolute genius of it and allows for so much more experimentation surrounding the chords – listening back, there really isn’t a moment where an element of the remix is stagnant or unchanging. I picked this remix as a prime example of Glenn’s work not only because I’ve had it on constant repeat for 2 weeks, but also for the level of detail and artistry involved in his process. As a producer myself, I deeply respect the subtleties that went into this remix to make it a wholly unique listening experience. Listen for the tape scratching underneath the rhythm, the delay on that high pitched, winding whistling sound – and the vocal chops that blend in and out of the mix, as needed. I can only say this about a handful of producers today, but this remix is a lesson on art in motion.

Exhibit B (listen above): Glenn Astro‘s most recent “Chemistry’ EP with Tartelet Records. I’ll spare you from waxing poetic on this release, but the record is a full pallet of Glenn’s production range. Personally, the B1 – Acid Tears is a masterpiece and encompasses the boundless limitations of a simple mono synth and drum machine. Fantastic texturing of two separate basslines and superb vocal sampling recreate a feeling a love and passion we can all empathize with – that’s what qualifies as a masterpiece of dance music for me. I was able to connect with this track and, coincidentally, it made me feel something other than wanting to dance (hooray!). The B2 selection, Dub Tears, is another one not to be missed. As you can surmise from the title, Dub Tears hits home on the flipside of love, with a sleazier undertone and a more straightforward, pounding rhythm.

At least, that’s Glenn‘s sound in my choice of words. You can take it or leave it. I would advise you to not consider whatever I’m typing and just follow his music – I tend to ramble at times.

If you’re a fan of this sound, check out some of the contemporaries I listed in the first paragraph. Glenn is certainly a fearless leader in this category of sound and we’re all ears for his upcoming work.