Swiss producer and songwriter Gaspar Narby has been living in London for the past three years. Originally involved in mostly acoustic bands, Narby was attracted to the seemingly infinite possibilities of electronic music, and began creating a home studio at the age of fifteen. The most recent result of his musical influence is A Stare Makes Two, Narby's astonishing debut.
A Stare Makes Two feels familiar and organic. Narby recorded most of the synth layers on an old cassette player, "which gives them a saturated feel." I'm a hard sell on electronic music. It has taken me a long time and much conditioning to warm up to the genre, but the particular sound that Narby cultivates on A Stare Makes Two marks him as one to watch in the industry. Using home-grown and old school production to create lived-in electronica, it demands to take up space in your head.
For an electronic producer to have a fascination with the human voice may seem odd, because it is the ultimate acoustic instrument. But a voice carries so much meaning, including the entire identity of the person who's singing. Building on this, and slightly transforming voices, was a powerful way to bring texture and meaning to my work. In the EP, there's D.A.N's voice, LEES' but also mine. The voice of my girlfriend appears just before the second chorus of Words of July, asking in French 'What do you want me to sing for you?'"
In addition to the release of the EP, Narby released a video for single "Sight," which was shot on 16mm and directed by Theo le Sourd. The video carries the same familiar, well-loved feel as Narby's music. A Stare Makes Two is an amalgam of everything I have come to enjoy about electronic music. This is not a drown-out-the-other noise EP. It is at once ominous and comforting; it thinks and it grows.
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