Foba – ‘Boss White Boy’ EP

Le Mans born and Montreal based, over the course of his short career as Fobator Victor Brulé amassed quite an impressive track record. Relaunching as Foba for his forthcoming ‘Boss White Boy’ EP, he retains his functionalist approach to construct four exquisite tracks of playful club ferocity.

With past releases under his Fobator moniker receiving support from the likes of Top Billin, Feadz, Sound Pellegrino, Burn Studios and Rinse France, Brulé rides in with high expectations behind him as his first EP as Foba is set to drop on Tessie-Ashpool Recordings imminently.

With the label’s adaptive “machine music doctrine” the two look to be ideally matched. Whilst the new release contains both NY and Chicago tribal house inflections, Foba doesn’t default to a strict 4/4 but rather spans and incorporates countless regional quirks. With classic drum machines working in tandem to produce a series of highly optimised dancefloor anthems, this new release delivers intricate club music with a cutting edge.

In spite of Victor’s French-touched origins and tape-saturated productions, his sound is neither warm nor twee. In fact, each track is pervaded with a cool, spatial aesthetic that smoothly strikes the balance between introspection and escapism even at the most luminous and melodic of moments. Drawing the line between the visceral and the contemplative, on the ‘Boss White Boy’ EP Foba essentially delivers for Generation Z the equivalent of acid house – the only thing missing is a squelching 303 bassline.

Title track ‘Boss White Boy’ builds with cinematic atmospherics before leading in with a menacing yet enticing chant repeating “listen to me”. A snap-happy, oft syncopated tribal house beat lays the foundation for skittering percussion and the eponymous hook. The Dubbel Dutch/Nguzunguzu-indebted ‘Laga Luvin’ blends Jersey and dembow into a tropical rave beat which feels at once light and yet also slightly sinister.

‘Shado’ is an 808 and 909 high intensity work out, and exemplifies the continued effectiveness of the rimshot roll. The build on this track is what makes it special, and in spite of its title it in fact provides some of the most uplifting moments of the EP. Closing on ‘Unpredictable’, described as an “inverted, fractured love letter to UK funky”, this final track looks to the future whilst giving a nod to his earlier work.

Set for release through Tessier-Ashpool on October 27th, check out the title track ‘Boss White Boy’ below and pick up your own copy of the release here.

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