- In an interview with i-D last year, Armand Jakobsson, AKA DJ Seinfeld and Rimbaudian, was asked who he'd most like to DJ alongside. "Me and Legowelt back-to-back playing the sunrise hour," he answered. "His music is such an inspiration." Jakobsson's affinity for Danny Wolfers suggests that lo-fi house is as much an aesthetic choice as a scene. Recent discussion on a loosely affiliated group of likeminded producers—including DJ Boring, Ross From Friends and others—has examined the visual quirks, and thereby the sincerity, of their output. But the dissociation between DJ Seinfeld's artwork—warped screengrabs from the titular sitcom—and the emotional tenor of his music can be striking. A track called "U" on his SoundCloud, where most of his material exists, features plangent piano chords and a sample of Bob Geldof discussing heartbreak and grief. Simply put, it's an incredibly moving dance track.
The first DJ Seinfeld 12-inch, Season 1, eschews that sort of material in favour of tom-laden house swingers. The influence of Wolfers on the hissy synth-flutes of "Always I Come Back To That" is obvious, but Jakobsson's gift for consolidating various sounds—like the '90s New Jersey-ish echo in "I'll Always Pick U Up" and the tribal house thump of "Feel De Bum Slap"—casts his net more widely. It's hard to choose a favourite. Conga slaps and boulder-sized drums give "Feel De Bum Slap" a satisfying force, but further listening unearths subtler touches, like the cascading hand drums that fall on every fourth beat. Dribbling marimbas run underneath a rhythmic, four-syllable phrase on "Jerry," another one of Season 1's panel-beaters. The harsh use of gongs and bells in "Konets Sveta Minimix" is a joy, though a DJ might hesitate to test them on a dance floor. Regardless of the production style or its casual presentation, count on Season 1 for entertainment.
TracklistA1 I'll Always Pick U Up
A2 Feel De Bum Slap
A3 Always I Come Back To That
B1 Jerry
B2 Konets Sveta Minimix