The music appealed on many levels and provided plenty of worlds and spaces in which listeners could get deeply involved within, and this journey is filled with beautifully polished gems that can be held and admired in your hands time and time again.
Are We Ever Leaving Here ?
released September 10, 2023
Balloon Tree Road
released February 25, 2022
LOZ GODDARD
Are We Ever Leaving Here ?
by Loz Goddard
released September 10, 2023
Produced by Loz Goddard
Mastering : Black Knoll
Lacquer Cut : Michelle Grinser / Manmade
Distribution : Yoyaku
On his second excursion for Oath, Manchester-based producer Loz Goddard continues to nurture the clubby side of his sound with a razor-sharp and bombastic EP that contains all you could ever wish for when it comes to breaks, euphoria, and sonic depth….
As a producer, Loz has operated under a number of guises, but one thing has always remained - his elegant and inspired application of melody. His early career was marked by a number of superb releases on labels such as Church, Tusk Wax, Apparel and many more, all of which highlighted a deep affection for groove, tone and atmosphere. The music largely operated within the realms of Deep House - at times spilling over into Nu-Disco - but there was always a little bit of shine on each EP that pointed to other spheres of influence, and it was these references points that made Loz Goddard’s music feel broad, considered and introspective. The music appealed on many levels and provided plenty of worlds and spaces in which listeners could get deeply involved within, and this journey is filled with beautifully polished gems that can be held and admired in your hands time and time again.
12"Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
A two-year break from releases resulted in the release of ‘Ballon Tree Road’, his debut LP and first release on Oath, and to say the record was a step forward would be an enormous understatement. Here Loz Goddard set down a marker of things to come, as he drew from the melodic outlays that were a cornerstone of his discography to date and permeated these through a spectrum of styles and rhythms that represent everything good about a dance music record. You had the quiet moments, the heart-felt moments, the pure and powerful moments, with Loz exploring everything from Breaks to Ambient, Broken Beat to House, and even some D’n’B thrown in for good measure. This was a marker if there ever was one, and it firmly established Loz’s second era phase, one where his abilities were given space to shine on a much broader scale.
‘Are We Ever Leaving Here?’ builds upon the energies found within his debut LP, providing a bitesize experience that aims itself directly at the dance floor - but listening at home provides a lot of scope for inward escapism.
The EP presents three original cuts, of which the title track gets things going - a deep set, resonating chord gets things going, which fans out to include additions to the sequence, and before long the breaks come into play, achieving lift-off and welcoming you firmly into the experience.
‘Parallaxing’ really evokes that firm set 90s Techno sound, with a hard-as-nails rhythm section (with hats aplenty) providing a basis for acid lines, swelling backroom chords and gorgeous interplays between synth lines - the way in which this song peaks is utterly glorious.
‘Space Nugz’ takes things down a notch, but keeps things heavy yet delicate. The beat here is cavernous, diving deep down within the strata along with the bass line that keeps proceedings ticking over. The melodic top layer is spacey, drifting between the ethereal and the real, enticing the listener to leave this plane and pursue a new life in another galaxy.
To round off the experience, there are two remixes from Casa Voyager head OCB, and Bristol-based producer Boulderhead, and they do not disappoint. OCB puts his spin on the title track, and the BPM gets pushed to its max, with the vibe pulled apart and rebuilt as a heads-down, floor-smashing proggy roller. Boulderhead focuses on ‘Space Nugz’, and here the groove is once again flipped on its head, with the remix pushing into the realms of dreamy chuggy techno, with the melodies filling up the spaces so beautifully.
Loz Goddard started something beautiful with his debut LP, and saw his sonics reach new heights and touch new depths. This EP keeps the flames burning bright, with expertly crafted dynamics and his signature melodic abilities on full display, with the two remixes adding much to the experience. As a mini-experience, it's hard to beat, and it only sets the heart racing for what might come next - for the meanwhile, Oath are incredibly proud to facilitate this beautiful new experience from Loz Goddard, and its one hopefully to be enjoyed at a few spots this summer…..
Balloon Tree Road
by Loz Goddard
released February 25, 2022
Produced by Loz Goddard
Artwork by Ventral Is Golden
Mastered by Thomas P. Heckmann @ Schnittstelle
Lacquer Cut by Andreas @ Schnittstelle
Distribution : yoyaku
Pressed by Vinyl de Paris
12"Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Manchester native Loz Goddard has been crafting high-quality releases since 2015, garnering early support from the likes of Mr. Scruff, Mike Huckaby, Move D, and Session Victim. The ever-eclectic producer has since partnered up with esteemed labels such as Seb Wildblood’s Church imprint and deep-house institution - Quintessentially, Loz has since reinvented his sound with an experimental edge and a penchant for live instrumentation. It’s Goddard’s ability to explore a wide range of genres and tempos whilst maintaining an authentically personal sound that is particularly special. Whether it’s the slow ambient motions inspired by the likes of Boards of Canada or the rattling breakbeat workouts imbued with the spirit of the nineties the U.K underground, this northern powerhouse delivers a deeply immersive sound design to be utilized in the club and for home listening. His latest work has been manifested in the form of the ‘Balloon Tree Road’, an LP set for release on Oath - purveyors of visionary electronic decadence, heavily conceptual and forward-facing in their creative output.
The long-play record opens idyllically with the soothing tones of ‘Before Times’, the track that would ultimately convince Loz to pursue an extended project as opposed to the shorter bounds of an EP. Airy tones and melodic plucks drift like a careless breeze through this introductory segment, gently lowering listeners into the rich narrative of ‘Balloon Tree Road’. The subsequent composition - ‘Bye For Now’ layers percussive elements atop slowly soaring pads and warbling keys, creating an organic atmosphere filled with wispy textures and live-sounding rhythmic production. The first single to be unveiled this November will be ‘When Time Slows It Feels Weird’ which sees Loz return to the floor-focused delights of breakbeat sampling. The kaleidoscopic style in which this established producer operates his Reform Radio show can be best heard in tracks such as this. Goddard meanders smoothly through downtempo chordal structures and jazz-like melodic improvisations to create an intersecting masterpiece with astounding presence both in headphones and through the weighty structure of a towering sound system. The tumbling breakbeat contrasts tastefully against the space-age timbre of the project, encouraging listeners to sway carelessly with the sound of broken-up kick and snare combinations.
‘Sun27’ sees our Manchester-based producer make full use of his TR-8 drum machine, delivering sharp electro decadence across harmonic arpeggiator patterns that extend dreamily through the arrangement. The rising tension through the first of the track is released like a barrage with the introduction of renegade breakbeats and a bouncy FM bassline.
‘Orange Blue Green’ will be the second single to be revealed from the LP at the start of next year. Sculpted from a field recording sent to Goddard by his significant other during a walk underneath a canal bridge in heavy rain. The natural reverb of the recording fills the track with spacious presence and lifelike motion. The scattering sound of water droplets provides the backdrop for a celestial arpeggio ensemble that feels endlessly hypnotic. Loz’s ability to manipulate such ethereal soundscapes is understandable - he cites Aphex Twin and Squarepusher as significant influential figures.
‘With You’ glides elegantly through four-to-the-floor lofi house rhythms, expanding freely into calming strings and synth layering that feels akin to the bloom of delicate flowers. The warm embrace of Goddard’s chord progressions matches perfectly with harmonic vocal chops and reverberated drum claps.
The LP draws to a close with ‘Train To Somewhere’, also the last single to be released from the album. It’s a warm, slow-burning infusion of rising chordal elements and elation-inducing strings. A perfectly somber end to an enigmatic and glowing record filled with live-instrumentation and melancholic synth programming, this track was created in Goddard’s formative years with the intention to be used in a long-form release setting. The conclusive moments of this record are nothing short of immaculate, gloriously combining the ambient presence of the previous tracks, with prominent
four-to-the-floor kick and seraphim pads. Loz Goddard is welcoming the new year with a colorful and optimistic record filled with earthy tones, setting the scenes for much-needed musical regrowth in the early stages of 2022.