By: Gaz Cloud
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Released on January 16, 2015 via Lenient Tales Recordings
Parra For Cuva’s output has so far consisted of introspective, playful electronica, as evidenced on the excellent Veiled In Blue EP, released on Traum Schallplatten. Those familiar with Nicolas Demuth’s oeuvre to date would have been surprised by the producer’s cover version of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. The recording, which flirted with pure pop music, provided the Berliner with an unlikely crossover hit. Whilst lacking the complexity that made Cora Novoa’s interpretation of this classic so flavoursome, the recording was inoffensive and charming.
Lenient Tales, a label that shares Traum’s melodic, dreamlike qualities, seems a perfect home for Parra For Cuva’s first long player and most complete artistic statement to date. From the off, Demuth avoids the pitfalls of his associates Egokind and Ozean’s foray into the album format. Whilst that duo’s recent LP was a sterling collection of deep house and melodic techno tracks, it lacked the pacing and variety of a true classic. Opener Devi is arguably the most potent statement of intent on an album within this subgenre since Max Cooper kicked off Human with Woven Ancestry. Devi calls on the talents of hip-hop MC Nieve to enhance a delicate, feminine groove. The results are spectacular and create a sense of expectation.
The rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to Devi’s lofty benchmark. Much like his hit single, the results are always charming, with a breezy air and chirpy tone prevailing. Unfold is a case in point – there’s much to like here, but the tune lacks the depth of Parra For Cuva’s best work. Sequenza is pretty, whilst Decay’s cute melodic patterns typify the laidback mood. The first real dance floor oriented track is situated in the final quarter of the record: Kopernikus grabs the attention by combining the sparkling treble with a rare insistent bass line and beat. The piece suffers somewhat from the use of cut up vocal samples, a common occurrence in a record that’s otherwise very careful with its use of sound design. Spiral’s quirky vox sound like a concession to current trends and We Could also features superfluous snatches of the human voice that don’t work as well as an instrument as the other timbres on offer. Nagi is reminiscent of Scuba and the best of these sampled-vocal tracks.
Parra For Cuva has more success employing vocals when working with other artists. Casey K adds some bite to the album’s title track, but her voice and the lyrical subject matter are too conventional to compete with Nieve’s leftfield turn on Devi. Champa, featuring Monsoonsiren, provides a mid-album perk, combining breathy vocals with a prominent kick pattern. Perhaps that Wicked Game cover wasn’t such an anomaly after all – Demuth is evidently a talented collaborator. The album closes with Your Remains, pairing a ‘cello and buzzing synth alongside a stuttering breakbeat. It’s a chaotic and cathartic close to a fine album, albeit one with as many troughs as peaks.
