Lyndon Jarr Release The Dreamer through SmallPrint Recordings

Transmitting frequencies directly out of Hong Kong, the international, Aussie-born producer Lyndon Jarr has risen to global fanfare for his distinct system music and his label's world-wide talent curation. As the co-founder of Unchained Recordings and Unchained Asia, he's a direct player and taste-maker in bass music's expansion into the Far East, and his own catalog features a bevy of finely-tuned tracks that feel at home on any proper rig. His most recent release, The Dreamer, finds an apt home with SmallPrint Recordings, and showcases the ever evolving nuance of his musical craftsmanship.

Jarr's discography is a journey through some of electronic music's most intrepid formats, from ambient to jungle, to 140 and back again. There's few settings that won't agree with his productions, and The Dreamer is no different; between precision percussion, supple rhythms, and aqueous song writing, the EP exudes a potent smoothness that's hard to pull away from. Somewhere between the nexus of soul, bass, and classic dance-floor music, Jarr strikes a careful equilibrium of aural elements and directions. That equilibrium is fully pronounced throughout The Dreamer, with each track ebbing gently and deliberately into new territories.

“Abeyance” opens the EP with a velvet dive into a four on the floor headspace. The melody is a subtle jaunt across the back of the mix, fleshed out with vibrant pads and sparse, delayed tones. There’s a feeling of weightlessness within the composition, accented by the rounded pulses of bass that fill out each measure. It’s a remarkably succinct package, prioritizing pure vibe over excessive impact. That same priority makes itself abundantly clear in the namesake track, “Dreamer”. There’s no substitute for spot-on drum processing, and the percussion throughout the song quite literally takes flight with your headspace in tow. Each pulse of texture and low end swims in and out of the stereo space like highway landmarks passed by in the dark of night. The track breaks into a monologue for dreamers, by dreamers: “They say dreaming’s dead, that no one does it anymore. It’s not dead, it’s just that it’s been forgotten.” All in a moment, it feels as though the songwriting is more than just it’s blend of synthesis and rhythm; Jarr’s musical strength is the personification of his music, and “Dreamer” personifies his personal, emotional output all the same.

SmallPrint’s tenure in the ongoing history of system music has been marked by their stellar list of collaborative artists and releases, and the addition of Lyndon Jarr continues to substantially raise the value of their reputable watermark. The scope and design of Jarr’s music lends itself to SmallPrint’s space-lounge veneer, and that relationship is nothing less than synergistic. The sooner you experience The Dreamer, the sooner you can experience that synergy for yourself.

FOLLOW Lyndon Jarr: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Spotify

FOLLOW SmallPrint Recordings: Soundcloud / Bandcamp