Peter Jefferies
Substatic
Emperor Jones/Trance Syndicate
I thought I was making pretty good time for the wedding. Perhaps it was that sense of security that made me miss the turn-off for the air force base (probably because they got second billing to the Jai-Alai) and find myself on a long stretch of no-U-turns allowed bay bridge. Still, I had just inserted Substatic, and between the sight of the grey road bisecting the blue water and the repetitive nature of the music, it didn’t feel like much of a tragedy.
The Jefferies name lies close to the root of New Zealand’s independent music scene. It’s easy to identify the self-absorbed, fidelity-be-damned approach present on many NZ projects here. These instrumental compositions, played mostly by Jefferies, are easy to sink into, providing soothing washes of guitar or a trickling piano melody in a manner that’s not too obvious or garish. The instrumentation might be a bit too organic for most chill rooms, but Substatic would still work well in that context. Trance Syndicate, P.O. Box 49771, Austin, TX 78765
