Bleep

Running through a variety of braindance-oriented sounds, The Jaffa Kid’s Suction Records debut marks a highlight in his discography. Something clicked for UK producer The Jaffa Kid in 2020, as an avalanche of over a hundred releases began to be unleashed via his Bandcamp page, with equally abundant releases for labels like Withhold, Altered Sense and Deeptrax Records sprinkled into the mix. Marking his debut on Suction Records (where he fits into the similarly ambitious output of the likes of RX-101) The Jaffa Kid shows no signs of slowing down nor dropping in quality, with Passing Signals being one of his most compelling records yet.

Built on top of a rich discography exploring countless techno styles, breakbeats, acid, and braindance, Passing Signals sits amongst The Jaffa Kid’s more melodic material, combining his ambient influenced synth work with beats ranging from ambling and easygoing to heavy hitting dance rhythms. The opening ‘Olyqu’ sits neatly in between these two extremes, with its bouncing four to the floor kicks, whispering pads giving a dreamy, crystalline quality, and acid wraiths cutting in to screech above the splendour. The low bitrate crushes of ‘Globbi’ meanwhile channel CRT screens with video game sound effects, as peaceful synths trudge through the lo-fi molasses. A chorus of scintillating harp plucks lighten the air on ‘Exa’, where The Jaffa Kid conducts a synth orchestra with bells chiming and strings swimming beneath, echoes of trance creeping into the vision.