carlo & baloo: graduate
Francisco Espregueira
Carlo is cementing his status as a source of elegant and deep house music. He also leads a very interesting label called Aterral, and for its seventh release he invites Baloo, Saudi Arabia's advocate of groove and real-keeping-believer in all things house, for a collaborative three-track EP entitled Graduate. Emerging from a mutual session in Carlo's Berlin studio at the end of 2020, this record is a manifesto by two dedicated devotees to the genre with like minded tastes.
Graduate starts with the title track, an irresistible finger snapping feelgood tune with a dub flavour, riding on a thick and funky bassline, dispersing into echo every now and then. "If You Want" is an emotionally charged and dreamy tune by nature. But not yet dreamy enough for the two, as it seems. So they added an even more laid-back variant to their deep and soulful take on Filterhouse. Available via Bandcamp, Graduate is not only a quality EP, but also an invitation to go deeper into Aterral’s discography. You will not be disappointed.