isaac basker: resilience sans relapse

Coming out of New York City’s flourishing underground house and techno scene is the debut release on “Play It, Say What?,” Resilience Sans Relapse EP, from label boss and native New Yorker, Isaac Basker, featuring remix work by NYC deep house master, Fred P. Isaac jumped onto the underground dance music scene in 2011 with “Found & Lost EP,” his underrated debut solo release on Thema, featuring house seeded in the deeper roots of New York, Chicago and Detroit. With his sophomore effort, Resilience Sans Relapse EP, Isaac puts together a menagerie of house music based in melodic chords, solid grooves, and classic sampling techniques stemming in vintage American house music traditions. The title track “Resilience Sans Relapse,” starts the EP off with chopped up vocals layered with an atmospheric chord, congas, bouncy hi hats, and bass; building to an uplifting crescendo without relapse. Current purveyor of NYC’s deep house resurgence and “Soul People Music” boss, Fred P, handles the “Reshape,” raising the tempo, further chopping the vocals and adding his well known mood formulating elements that take us deep into house music’s soul. Contrasting side A is “Attack of The Drones,” the EP’s banger that hits with thumping kicks and claps over an interpretable vocal chant and grooving NYC club organs that are then flipped on the listener midway through. Bringing Resilience Sans Relapse EP to an emotional close is “Can’t Find A Place,” a song beginning without a beat, presented by melancholy chords seeped in white noise where the mood is then increased via syncopated claps, unidentifiable highs, a booming kick and a rolling bassline. Like the previous track, it possesses its own unstated “part 2,” allowing for changes to the structure more than halfway through that seem to take us to a place where one cannot be found nor lost.