Bleep

The Information LP which Galcher Lustwerk released in 2019 solidified the New York-based producer as one of the most intriguing voices in contemporary house. While crisp beats and deep, dusky productions denoted an artist schooled in the classic sounds of house’s Midwestern outposts, Lustwerk’s arch lyrics showed that he was much more self-reflexive than many of his contemporaries.

Proof, Lustwerk’s new EP for Ghostly International, very much continues in the vein of Information. Though there is a crispness to these beats brought about by Lustwerk’s switch to electronic drum sounds, he is careful that the digital thump of tracks like ‘Leave’ doesn’t drown out his musings. For Lustwerk, clubby beats are just as likely to induce introspective reveries as they are to make him pull shapes - though cuts like Proof’s title-track and a sprightly remix of ‘Speed’ from AceMoMa will still get the crowd going if deployed correctly.

There are points on Proof where Lustwerk gets lost in his own thoughts, leaving the club behind to wander dark streets. With typical dry wit, the track called ‘I Had To Slow It Down’ literally is the slowest number here, and the way Lustwerk intones the title over a groove that barely tops 100 bpm only adds to a sense of an artist lightly ribbing his own style. He goes even further on ‘Graham’, stripping out beats entirely and drifting amid a fog of keyboard pads.

Galcher Lustwerk’s Proof EP furthers his case as an idiosyncratic, beguiling, fascinating house musician.