Tagwell Woods – Mecca

Appearing out of nowhere in 2013 with a single 12″ of stirring, reflective acid on WT Records, this unknown producer quickly disappeared again, continuing in that time honoured UK tradition of keeping as low a profile as possible, leaving room for endless big mouth chancers with far less talent to get all the press. It’s thus fitting that Woods should return on the suitably low-key Dutch imprint Photic Fields, a label whose sound focuses on the deeper corners of the dance floor.

Going on the six tracks contained on Mecca not much has changed in Tagwell Woods‘ music since the WT release and this is no slight on someone who came out with such a strong and well rounded sound in the first place. He has a wonderful skill of making epic sounds feel intimate, combining skyscraping acid lines with slow bpms and melancholic, nostalgic melodies, in a not dissimilar fashion to how SAW era AFX would allow Chicago deep house influences infiltrate his uniquely British sensibilities.

Thus we have six versions of a rather specific interpretation of acid house music, one less interested in thoughtless euphoria, instead commanding the listener to immerse themselves in the brittle dissonance of the music, which is then held up by the sturdy 303 and 707s (for once not sounding hackneyed and played out), and in the case of the release highlight “Chance” some additional, brutal drones which manage to only add to the delicate beauty of Woods’ sound. We can handle such a sporadic release schedule if every bit of output is as powerful as this.

Check out the samples: