Category: Reviews
D.C. DJ Sami brings a secret weapon to his dance music: A flute
“Way Up,” a standout track on Sami’s “Elevate” EP — his first collection of new music in nearly five years — begins down a path that will be familiar to those who have heard the music he’s produced, DJed or released on 1432 R, the label he co-founded: Chitter-chatter percussion and percolating bass give way to hands-in-air…
New Life by Dawit Eklund
“New Life” is a pitch-perfect tribute to sweaty mornings on the dancefloor – A review by Madison Bloom in Pitchfork
Rise by Dawit & Dolo
By Philip Sherburne No matter what selfish instincts may drive Capitol Hill these days, the collective spirit has always ruled D.C.’s music community: Just see the vast family tree of punk’s iconic Dischord Records, for example, or the extensive web of connections behind the Positive Force collective. In recent years, the same has proven to be true…
How a small D.C. record label became a hotbed of modern Ethiopian Sounds
1432 R debuted with a brand new artist and a brand new sound. Mikael Seifu invents Ethiopiyawi here and changes history.
Lies Are Chic by Dawit Eklund
By Philip Sherburne Surly sounds are rarely as invigorating—or even liberating—as they are on “Lies Are Chic”, the quick-stepping, shadow-boxing new jam from Dawit Eklund, co-founder of Washington, D.C.’s 1432 R. It’s all in that gnarly square-wave bassline, which doesn’t even sound like notes so much as an ellipsis made of snarls, or a string of pearls the…
Psycho Animus by Dawit Eklund
By Philip Sherburne Washington, D.C.’s 1432 R label launched earlier this year with a record by an Ethopian artist, Mikael Seifu, that fused techno and ambient tropes with percussion and vocals from his native country. He’s back on the label’s second release with “Tuff Ruff”, an even more seamless merger of Ethiopian elements with Western club rhythms. But the…
