Jacques Greene at YES
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Philippe Aubin-Dionne AKA Jacques Greene has spent 10 years exploring his relationship with club music. The French-Canadian artist’s breakout release, ‘(Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want’, was the start of this exploration. Combining chopped, chipmunked vocals from R&B singer Ashanti’s ‘Foolish’ with house beats and brightly-coloured synths, this track pitted melancholia against ecstasy in a way that sang to the catharsis of the dancefloor.
A slew of singles and EP’s followed, before a full album in 2017. The product of seven years of DJing around the world, Feel Infinite is not only a record of club music but also a record about club music. Rooted in house and techno and awash with R&B vocal samples, it narrates the experience of an introvert for whom raves are the gateway to human connection.
Fast forward to 2019, and Jacques Greene’s new album Dawn Chorus views the same subject from further away. Residing in the post-rave reflective moment as opposed to the club, this record is much more detailed than its predecessor. The sound design and arrangements have a new elegance, and there’s now a plethora of exciting collaborators involved in the project, giving it a whole new colour.
The album opens with ‘Serenity,’ an all-back-to-mine breaks tune that Greene describes as “a weird, euphoric take on The Chemical Brothers.” Lead single ‘Night Service’ is a neon-lit hip house anthem helmed by Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon, who drapes a love letter to the club around Greene’s acid-dipped synths. Elsewhere, ‘Distance’ blends ambient textures with sampled birdsong and the snaking lines of Oliver Coates’ cello.
Aptly named, Dawn Chorus signifies a new chapter for Jacques Greene. Be a part of it at YES on the 30th January.
