Top 2011 Tracks
27. Darkside - A1
Listening to Darkside is the answer to the question “what would happen if Nicolas jaar worked with guitar riffs?” “A1” has same element of downtempo soul and spacious minimalism Nicloas has mastered through his work but with an added element of funk and clarity through Dave Harrington’s guitar and bass. Its structure allows the simple motif or riff of the guitar shape Nicola’s space, noise and vision. It’s so groovy it gives me fuzzy feelings when I listen to it through my headphones alone at night.
The constant kick and tomb of the drums is all “A1” needs to keep on track. Listening to “A1” as a Nicolas Jaar song, it feels as the most structuralized of his work. How can it feel so Nicolas when the bulk of the track is Dave’s guitar? There’s almost no room for Nicolas’ signature space in this track, but “A1” maintains his prodigious ability to produce an intuitive but sensuous track, this time, through the funk of a guitar.
