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Review: The Director's B-Movie

 

Released through independent record label Kookoo in October 2023, French producer The Director's second EP - fittingly titled B-Movie, is an incredible, yet quirky release. Stuffed to the brim with expertly produced tracks which double down as club weapons and chilled out grooves - this EP has an endless amount of replay ability, while also mixing in the extremely unique theme of cinema - making it an essential listen for any new fan of French house music.

Across the five tracks on B-Movie, The Director showcases his extremely unique style of production, which feels akin to a lot of the records that came out of the French touch boom of the 90s - albeit with different styles, moods and ideas. The EP's opener, Phunkymusik, is an extremely energetic club weapon with a serious amount of groove - making it perfect for dropping into DJ sets, or even for use in films - that pun was ever so slightly intended!

This pattern continues with the EP's second track - the fantastic Let Me Be Your Energy - a funky, festival and party ready filter house track with some fantastic sample work and tight production - making it an epic track to put into DJ sets or show to people as a great introduction to French house - it's a track which I know I'm going to be listening to often for the rest of the year!

B-Movie's third track "Undercranking" is my personal favourite - it's an extremely grand, yet dark outing, mixing French house, darker disco records and acid to create an immersive yet thumping banger which, again, feels perfect for those darker nights, or if you ever need a track to pump you up - this can be noted with it's building intensity and instrumentation. Furthermore, the track also exemplifies one of the key themes in the EP - the direction, and techniques, of vintage cinema.

Throughout the EP, references to cinema are scattered everywhere - ranging from the opening monologue about undercranking as a technique in film in Undercranking, to the final two tracks on the release both having titles which allude to different types of shots, alongside the small interlude during the opening of Letterbox from what I assume to be a film director talking to actors before a take. With the exemplification of vintage cinema throughout, this provides B-Movie with a sense of quirkiness which I think is incredibly interesting and cool - and as a former film student, I found the references to film awesome!

Going back to the actual music on the album, B-Movie's final two tracks take on a much more chilled out tone - Letterbox sounds like something that would have been released by Together (aka Thomas Bangalter and DJ Falcon) for Roule back in 2000-2002 thanks to the track's slower tempo and awesome synth work and Close Up is a funky, disco-led finale which feels slightly reminiscent of the nu disco scene, or the work of Cadillac - ending out B-Movie on a high note.

Overall, B-Movie is fantastic - it's quirky, extremely fun, it's produced amazingly, and it's incredibly impressive due to it's versatility, great ideas and most importantly of all - it sets the bar high for modern French house in the best way possible. Producers, take note!

Rating: 9/10

PS - I want to also say thank you to CitrikkAcid for suggesting I review this - it was super fun to listen to this EP for the first time and a pleasure to write about it - thanks man!

There you have it everyone - I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, and keep enjoying your stay at the discotheque.

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