Draft:Step by Step (EP)
| Step by Step | |
|---|---|
| EP by | |
| Released | 24 June 2022 |
| Recorded | 2014; 2020 |
| Studio | |
| Genre | French touch |
| Label | Domino Recording Company |
| Producer | |
| Singles from Step by Step | |
| |
Step by Step is the first extended play by the French touch duo Braxe + Falcon.
Braxe and Falcon began work on music demos in Paris together around the same time Falcon produced the Daft Punk track "Contact" (2013), which were left untouched for years until Peter Bernard, the manager of Domino Recording Company, encouraged the duo to finish them. These demos were finished at Braxe's studio in Toulouse, with additional equipment from Falcon's in Biarritz. The EP features the Animal Collective member Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox and the singer-songwriter Sunni Colón, who added lyrics and vocals to demos that Braxe + Falcon gave them. Three singles were released: the title track, "Creative Source", and "Elevation".
Background
[edit]The producers Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon worked on electronic music in the late 90s and 2000s on Thomas Bangalter's label Roulé, with Braxe yielding the singles "Vertigo" (1997) and with Stardust, "Music Sounds Better with You" (1998), and Falcon with the extended play Hello My Name is DJ Falcon (1999) and producing two tracks with Bangalter as Together, the namesake track in 2000 and "So Much Love to Give" in 2002. Falcon remained largely inactive with music production, taking up hobbies like surfing and DJing, and Braxe continuing to produce music.[1][3]
By 2013 Falcon had co-produced the Daft Punk track "Contact", at which point he and Braxe began recording demos together.[4] Prior to this, Braxe and Falcon had only met "maybe ten times at family parties", and had no knowledge of each other's careers in electronic music, something that brought them close.[5] The demos they made together were left untouched for years until the two spoke with Domino Records manager Peter Berard around 2020, who convinced them to finish them.[5] Braxe and Falcon began to finish them during the COVID-19 pandemic; the aspect of pandemic giving them extra time allowed them to "lay back and focus" on making music the was not necessarily for clubs.[5]
Composition
[edit]The title track was the first of these demos to be completed, crucial to the duo since it was a "downtempo ballad with acoustic drums", a departure from the traditional French house 125 beats per minute format. No longer being interested in the traditional form, they wanted this kind of subversion to be the first song of their collaboration.[5] As they were working on the song, Braxe + Falcon decided to send the instrumental to Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox.[4] The duo provided Lennox with references of his own material that they liked, but otherwise gave him creative freedom.[4] Falcon believes it took Lennox 48 hours to send back his lyrics and vocals.[4][1]
Falcon said that "Creative Source" was a tribute to the old era of French house, made using 20-year-old samples that he still had on his sampler[5] from the song "I'd Find You Anywhere" by the American R&B group Creative Source.[6] "Elevation" was recorded during a heat wave in France, with the duo playing the singer-songwriter Sunni Colón five or six demos, one of which he chose "almost instantly". Colón wrote lyrics and a melody, which Braxe described as "soft and melancholic, perfectly matching the music". The three realised the song was satisfactory oafter they returned to the studio from a break outside and associated it with the feeling of being cooled down.[7]
The first demos were recorded in Paris, and the second batch and final mixes were recorded at Braxe's studio in Toulouse.[5] Falcon sent parts over to Braxe from his studio in Biarritz.[5] Falcon said during their first time in Braxe's studio, they focused on having fun with the modular synths, but the second time they focused on bringing ideas that they had done independently, as a starting point.[5] The duo used Ableton Live software for its flexibility, and used the modular synthesisers Strymon Magneto and Orthogonal Devices ER-301, looping the synths or using a few chords they found by luck, building from there.[5] Braxe + Falcon's felt their usage of newer instruments such as these modular synthesisers in the production made them "reconnect with the punk spirit of the early days, freeing ourselves from convention".[8]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[9] |
Stereogum observed that the duo tried to "channel the sense of wonder they had in the early days of their career", praising the four tracks as "sunny and sliding", and singled out the title track as "an all-timer".[10] KCRW's Travis Holcombe said that "Creative Source" and "Love Me" make "overt nods to their French Touch roots with plenty of the disco-sampled hallmarks of their earlier work", while the title track was described by Holcombe as the best single of the year so far and a "particularly dynamic evolution" of the duo's signature sound.[3] Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne said Step by Step was more meticulously crafted than any of the early Roulé 12"s", yet that its shared aspect of simplicity made it able to "almost be mistaken for a lost classic of the Y2K era". Pointing out the title track as a standout, he felt that the LP didn't "hang together" in its own right and criticised the track progression, yet remarked it was "tactile, corporeal, a full-frequency embrace that can feel like a divine caress", a hallmark of French touch.[9]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Step By Step (feat. Panda Bear)" | 04:02 | |
| 2. | "Love Me" |
| 03:10 |
| 3. | "Creative Source" |
| 03:36 |
| 4. | "Elevation (feat. Sunni Colón)" |
| 03:34 |
| 5. | "Step By Step ft. Panda Bear (Bonus Beat)" |
| 04:14 |
| Total length: | 18:36 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Step By Step (feat. Panda Bear) [12" Version]" |
| 05:22 |
| Total length: | 23:58 | ||
Personnel
[edit]Chart performance
[edit]
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|
Release history
[edit]| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 24 June 2022 | Domino | [2] | |
| 26 August 2024 | Vinyl LP |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Szatan, Gabriel (29 March 2022). "The Return of French House Pioneers Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (18 May 2022). "Braxe + Falcon Detail EP, Share New Song "Elevation": Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ a b Holcombe, Travis (30 June 2024). "Guest Mix: House legends Braxe + Falcon flex their French Touch". KCRW. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Holcombe, Travis (10 November 2022). "Daft Punk pals Braxe + Falcon on 'Step By Step' and loving Dinosaur Jr". KCRW. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Turner, Danny (1 September 2022). "Braxe + Falcon: "These days, most kids just crack tons of plugins and don't really cherish what they have"". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Vergeade, Franck (29 March 2022). "Alan Braxe et DJ Falcon en pleine French Touch" [Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon in full French Touch]. Les Inrockuptibles (in French). ISSN 0298-3788. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ^ Leas, Ryan (18 May 2022). "Braxe + Falcon – "Elevation" (Feat. Sunni Colón)". Stereogum. OCLC 1142733705. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ Shopmaker, Zoey (29 March 2022). "Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon join forces as Braxe + Falcon on new EP, Step By Step". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Sherburne, Philip (6 July 2022). "Step by Step EP: Alan Braxe / DJ Falcon review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Rettig, James (7 December 2022). "25 Great EPs From 2022". Stereogum. OCLC 1142733705. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "BRAXE + FALCON STEP BY STEP EP". Domino Recording Company. Retrieved December 9, 2024 – via www.dominomusic.com.
- ^ "Step By Step EP". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 9, 2024 – via www.bandcamp.com.
- ^ "Step By Step - EP". Apple Music. Retrieved December 9, 2024 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ a b "Step by Step | Braxe + Falcon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2024.