Marshall Watson - Foothills

Over the course of a 19-year career, Marshall Watson has released all manner of musical treats for a similarly wide array of labels, yet it's the effortless beauty of his downtempo works - and particularly his ambient and Balearic excursions - that have often left a lasting impression. It certainly caught the attention of NuNorthern Soul founder Phil Cooper, who brought the West Coast producer to the label in the summer of 2021. That EP, Sunsets on Larkin Parts 1 & 2, was undeniably special. The same can be said about his belated return to the label, Foothills, an EP packed to the rafters with slow-burn melodies, sustained chords, becalmed textures and gently unwinding grooves. Watson's distinctive take on Balearic naturally comes to the fore on EP opener 'High Desert', a soft-focus delight where languid electric guitars, starry electric piano lines, echoing chords and gently pulsing electronics stretch out across a shuffling groove. While tailor-made for watching the sun set off his beloved Pacific Coast - and over the Mediterranean Sea - 'High Desert' offers a dose of hazy sonic sunshine that can brighten up even the greyest of days. Fittingly, the accompanying remix comes from long-time friends of the label Seahawks, whose textured, layered and atmospheric productions similarly blur boundaries between Balearic, ambient, pitched-down dancefloor grooves and glassy-eyed psychedelia. Employing opaque, shape-shifting pads, effects-laden guitars, subtle spoken word snippets and yearning, almost melancholic chords - all atop a crunchy, head-nodding beat and toasty bassline - the duo deliver a remix that's as emotive and sonically stunning as Watson's original mix.