Gabriel EP
Joe Goddard

Joe Goddard is surely one of the busiest men in the world of electronic music: writer and producer behind the world-conquering Hot Chip, acclaimed solo artist, travelsome DJ, prolific remixer, one half of the emerging 2 Bears house duo and one of the founding members of the Greco-Roman record label and party collective. So where does he find the time to make an EP of electronica so sweet? In bed, that’s where. 

“wide awake and I can hear my heartbeat /
hope it cradles me and rocks my bones to sleep ...”

Fitting, then, that Goddard’s first solo material in 18 months should open with a chorus of angels, before title track ‘Gabriel’ strides confidently into familiar territory of London’s clubland and its rich musical influences; this time Goddard choosing Gospel and House as his parameters. Whereas solo album ‘Harvest Festival’ might have erred on the side of electronica and experimentation, the ‘Gabriel’ EP – the first taster of a solo album for next year - punches direct, with the latest addition to the Greco-Roman collective Valentina (who co-wrote ‘Gabriel’) lyrically laying down the gauntlet from the off:

“Gabriel you’ve gone too far and you should hang your head in shame /
for these wounds I cannot pay, you’ve gone too far /
you broke my heart, you’ve gone too far”

But for all this heartache Goddard almost immediately offers a calm reply with his sprawling love song ‘All I Know’, a familiar warm side coming across as he lullabies: “All I know, I want you on my team, on my team, in my dreams”  over loose percussion and spiraling electronica reminiscent of close friends Dan Snaith or Kieran Hebden.

And if ever you needed a wake up call ‘Jump’ would be just that, a Theo Parrish-inspired DJ tool engineered by underground house star Jesse Rose, which is quickly followed by an acid club version of ‘Gabriel’, a final burst of energy at the end of a long night out with Greco-Roman.

No sleep for the wicked, then.

Limited edition Gabriel 'Heartbreak' t-shirts available at the Millionhands store: http://bit.ly/vk2zFh

FREE MP3s of Gabriel EP by Joe Goddard when you buy the Vinyl
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Release date: 18/09/2011
Format: 12" Vinyl
Genre: Electronic
Catalogue number: GREC022V