Keepsakes’ upcoming EP “Lead Popsicle” set for release on July 19, 2024, via Boys Noize Records.
Lead Popsicle features four tracks: “Blink And Don’t Pay,” “Quit Your Dancefloor Yarn,” “How To Edge And Edgelord,” and “Tyrannical Conga.”
Following recent releases on KAOS/OAKS and Perc Trax, Christchurch-based techno artist Keepsakes is releasing a 4-track EP, “Lead Popsicle,” via Boys Noize Records. The EP blends industrial sound design and heavy drums with the funk and groove of late 90s/early 2000s techno and second-generation Chicago house, showcasing a tough yet playful side of his evolving sound.
LISTEN PREMIERE HERE:
The EP, Lead Popsicle begins with “Blink And Don’t Pay,” a high-energy track influenced by electro and ghetto-house, featuring aggressive synths, catchy vocal chants, and dynamic drums. The next track, “Quit Your Dancefloor Yarn,” inspired by a number of unwanted club conversations, includes offbeat tom rhythms, quirky vocal loops, and playful alien-like synths to discourage unwanted dance-floor chatter.
The third track, “How To Edge An Edgelord,” features rolling percussion, a robotic vocal hook, and atonal screeches, offering DJs a playful yet edgy drum funk. The EP concludes with “Tyrannical Conga,” a sought-after track since its 2022 debut in VTSS’ Dekmantel Boiler Room. It boasts funky conga rhythms, flanged percussion, eerie vocals, and chunky drums, effectively energizing dance floors worldwide.
Keepsakes, the alias of British-New Zealand producer and DJ James Barrett, has been a prominent figure in techno since his breakout EPs “Stygian Concrete Works” and “Weapons Grade Manic” in 2014. Known for his powerful, menacing, yet playful productions, he has released music on influential labels such as South London Analogue Material, Perc Trax, MORD, Earwiggle, and KAOS.
Keepsakes, the alias of British-New Zealand producer and DJ James Barrett, founded the Haven club night in 2015 alongside Jaded Nineties Raver in Auckland, New Zealand, to introduce experimental and harder techno to the local scene. In 2018, Haven expanded into a vinyl-focused record label, releasing music from leading international artists such as VTSS, Tommy Holohan, New Frames, Peder Mannerfelt, Ayarcana, Ansome, and Ryan James Ford, while also becoming the main platform for Barrett’s own productions.
Now located in Ōtautahi, Aotearoa (Christchurch, New Zealand) – following several years in Berlin hitting the European club circuit – he is focused on bringing his tough and eclectic sound to dance floors worldwide, with regular appearances at international techno institutions providing a platform for his formidable DJ sets.
SOCIALS TO FOLLOW:
KEEPSAKES
BOYS NOIZE RECORDS
