Finally! The story of musical independence and experimentalism has a new chapter. David "Brun" Brown and James Taylor, as the British duo Swayzak, created the definition of minimal dub-techno with a penchant for vocals. What began with Snowboarding in Argentina, developed further with Himawari and reached a climax with Dirty Dancing now receives the fourth much-expected title, Loops from The Bergerie. Swayzak’s penchant for a vocal-based song structure has barely changed and for good reason: Vocalist Clair Dietrich is once again onboard, accompanying the hypnotic effect of the dreamy "Then There’s Her" with her spoken-singing vocal. Swayzak’s Brun also takes to the microphone again and "Snowblind", which sounds like an electronic rebirth of the Doors, and the driving first single "Keep It Coming" showcase his vocal skills. A new discovery for Swayzak is the Parisian Mathilde Mallen, whose performances on the slower tracks, "8080" and "The Long Night", leave us in no doubt why various projects on labels such as Tigersushi and Q-Tape swear by her voice. Also new and probably the most accomplished voice on the album is Richard Davis. The Brit released his celebrated single, "Bring Me Closer", on Swayzak’s label 240 Volt. Three tracks feature his voice on the Swayzak album – "My House", "Speakeasy" and the second single, "Another Way" – have cemented this good collaboration, as has the plan to construct the new live performance around him. This marks the first time that Swayzak have taken the step of bringing live vocals to the stage and underlines even more the importance of vocals in their songs.
Loops From the Bergerie points the way forward for Swayzak. What may look like a retro step backwards technically proves to be a musical step forward. This sign of maturity, with a deep-rooted sound, raises the Brits from laptop heroes to real producers. Swayzak has finally come of age.
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