Review: Over the course of 2012, LA based producer Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker aka Gifted & Blessed aka GB has been stealthily responsible for some of our favourite releases at Juno, be it the self released and brilliantly presented EP The Provider or his return to All City with the vintage Detroit electro flex of Seven In Twenty Four or the all too on point Eglo emission The Abstract Eye. The Steoples project done in collaboration with fellow West Coast musician A Race Of Angels surfaced earlier this year and glowered with the kind of resonating warmth you would expect when Reyes-Whittaker's music is complemented by the angelic yet fragile vocal refrain of his studio partner. Despite originally being restricted to the digital domain, tracks such as "Nature Of The Soul" seem tailor-made for sliding across a slab of wax so it's great to see The Steoples EP finally get a 12" release. Such delays haven't dampened the impact either, which is a clear sign of timeless music. Along with the aforementioned "Nature Of The Soul" - a scratchy concoction of house-not house rhythms, sweet keys and swirling basslines tailor made for the vocal - the duo preside over plump and wonderfully melodic analogue beatdown excursions which bode well for future material The Steoples are apparently working on.
… Read more