Bleep

Belgian label Pelican Fly present ‘Mirror Maru’ an exuberant, cartoony release from anonymous producer Cashmere Cat. The EP’s four tracks outline a home-spun hip-hop aesthetic drawing upon the warped crunk of the likes of Hudson Mohawke and Rustie, packed with detuned vocal samples, prog keyboard cascades, and trap beats. The title track oscillates between relaxed hip-hop and double-tempo underneath a strange mixture of screaming chipmunk vocals and lush broken piano and harp chords, ‘Paws’ uses a similar palette, with its pitched-down vocals recalling James Blake's early Harmonimix escapades. ‘Secrets + Lies’ and ‘Kiss Kiss’ push the template into more extrovert realms, with brazen fanfare synths appearing on the former, and a pounding kick dominating the latter track.