Space funk soulboy Casey Tucker returns with a debut EP for Fourier Transform
As debut releases go, Fourier Transform have gone in all guns blazing and landed a gem of an 001 in their catalogue, thanks to the mercurial talents of Casey Tucker. A deft hand and master of machines, his soulful soundscapes rarely fail to capture the ear or imagination with a mantra of quality over quantity at his core.
With a career in music that spans over three decades, Tucker got into producing in 1989 after discovering the nascent sounds Acid House. A year later, he helped make a record under the name Frenzied Bass, a limited-edition Hardcore Breakbeat EP (“The Fenland Bass”) that was linked with Shades of Rhythm.
It was however his touch with Techno that really brought him to prominence. As the first UK based artist to feature on the legendary Plus 8 record label family, he signed material with Richie Hawtin and John Aquaviva in 1991: releasing several singles under the names 0733 and VFT. A few years on, he set up Fine Balance Records and made his mark with a set of limited edition EPs recorded under his own name. However, by 1998 he decided to put the record label on hold and Fine Balance Productions was formed as a remixing and production unit; specialising in cutting edge Underground Garage projects. It would however be the subsequent rediscovery by diggers and heads of his earlier music that lead to reissues by “For Those That Knoe” in recent times.
Fourier Transform is a brand new label on a mission to grab the attention of the tech house purists. Riding squarely into the realms of soul-fuelled space age funk, title track on Side A “Deep Soul Calm” is nothing short of a masterclass in uplifting electronics. As Tucker places a bouncing lead at the fore, slowly wrapping it in layers of warm synthesis , sprinkled with additional rhythmic melodies. Elastic bass injects a certain energy to the groove along with 303 tweaks: all led by crunching percussion and crashing hits which give his sound that all important vibrancy.
Not to be outdone, he launches into slightly more spacious optics with “Identity” on Side B – leading with drums, then bass. Before the lead melody cuts through and ushers in warm pads: a supple layered grooves that is every bit engaging, albeit more subtle in aesthetic. To add to the mix, label honcho Wil Russell takes on the task reshaping Tucker’s original with The Vast Profound remix of “Deep Soul Calm”. Stripping back much of the layered parts, he strikes a balance between pulsating bottom end and modulated synths that weave and warp their way through a cosmos of glistening waves of positivity.
