MAHJONGG
FREE GROOVE RIDER (K RECORDS)
Stylistically, Mahjongg is boundless and indefinable. From their very first EP through K's Kontpab (released earlier this year), Mahjongg have dabbled in beatbox punk, afro-beat revivalism and junkyard whimsy.
The continual shifts in their albums is an earnest attempt to realize global harmonies, but if given only one side of a 7" which side of Mahjongg would come out to play? The Dub Narcotic Disco Plate series provides the answer and "Free Groove Rider" is their most refracted pop statement yet.
Using a swirling vocoder and intermittent dance beats, this single flickers like a channel-surfer finding pop sensibilities in between the static.
The B-side, a remix by Selector Dub Narcotic (Calvin Johnson), ups the playfulness by reducing the static in favor of an unkempt, bubbling mix of melodica and reemerging synths.