James Holden's Border Community label definitely consistently releases music that "blurs the line between the bedroom and the dance floor," which is the label's guiding philosophy. Canadian producer Jake Fairley, who as Fairmont, has released mainly on Border Community and Germany's Traum Schallplatten labels, keeps the music in line with this philosophy. Fairmont's Velora EP came out in May of 2011, but it's possible it may have slipped you by as I haven't seen much coverage of it online.
The seemingly abstract album art is only a small part of a picture created by British designer Jack Featherstone that can be combined with Avus' Poppy EP and Margot's France 2 EP to create a more coherent (but still incomplete as some pieces are yet to be released) picture.
Fairmont's sounds on Velora are rough compared to those heard on much of the pristine Traum stuff. The idea here is about feeling, not production. And Fairmont indeed delivers. The sporadic vocals and analog synthesis create a uniquely Fairmont sound, that can be dark at times but definitely positively experimental. All four of the tracks on the Velora EP are absolutely killer. Border Community always seems to be one step ahead of the game in the world of the electronic elite. Be sure to check out their website and previous releases for equally important and stunning musical material. Border Community's website is a great platform to get an idea of their sound and what they're about; a fresh perspective on music of the 2000s.
Exciting music like this is hard to come by, so if you like it definitely support Fairmont and Border Community by buying a copy on Vinyl (if there are any left) or one or all of the digital mp3's.
You can buy Fairmont's Velora EP at the following online retailers:
Enjoy!
