Two artists at the top of their game, coming together to celebrate... what else? Being at the top of their game! A smaller offering, only four tracks, but packed with plenty of character to sustain delight over multiple listens. The selected tunes play to each others strengths, complimenting one anothers downtempo electronica chops marvellously. Four certified mellow bangers. Get on this.
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INTERVIEW
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George Ernst (Triplicate Records): How did this collaboration come about?

Antonis Haniotakis Melorman):Tim sent me a mail regarding a potential collaborative release. He was listening at some of my releases and he shared with me that it would be fun and and a nice idea to do something together. I liked his work. Communication and energy was really good and chill so we decided to proceed without any anxiety. The plan was to remix each other for every original track but this could take a lot of time and we stayed to the current plan. Maybe we'll do this in a future release.

Tim Gilbert (Fields of Few): I’d been listening to Melorman’s music for quite some time. I’d often listen to it on summer trips to the Mediterranean- his music really is the perfect soundtrack to a beautiful oceanic view on a hot summer’s day. I just had the idea of reaching out to him as our music shares some common ground, and I was delighted that he was on board with the idea of working together.

GE: What's a Pikininu? Sorry for the boring question, I couldn't figure it out anywhere so I had to know.

AH: Back in the days a good friend of mine had an uncle that he was a sailor and travelled all around the world. When he was back from his trips for a family dinner or a visit he was calling my pal (he was around 7-8years old at that time) "Pikinini". Pikinini is the translation of the child or the small child in a dialect of Papua New Guinea tribe. My pal had the impression that the word was "Pikininu" instead of the real word "Pikinini" so the word stuck like this in my head. I was calling my daughter "Pikininu" when she was a newborn. The track in the ep was based on an older idea I was making then and I had named the project file "Pikininu"......

TG: I’m glad Antonis explained that as I wasn’t sure either! The answer didn’t disappoint!

GE: Can you (both) tell us your three biggest musical influences?

AH: When I started making music I was really impressed by Aphex, Boards of Canada and μ-Ziq. I still listen to them once in a while to return to my roots. It's really impressive their music is still up to date in a way.

TG: This is incredibly difficult to answer, not least because I have a foot in both electronic and classical music camps. Suffice to say, my influences tend not to be mainstream. For me, I think you find the really beautiful, creative and meaningful stuff ‘off the beaten track’. In my earlier years I always gravitated towards independent labels that release contemporary Electronica, Drum & Bass Alternative Ambient. So Squarepusher, FSOL, Orb, Aphex Twin, Goa Trance (alongside Orchestral stuff, and Tallis & Palestrina!) Now I’m into more mellow downtempo stuff (Helios, 36, Chequerboard, & of course Melorman). But but there is common ground in all of it- it’s all characterised by being emotionally intense, with harmonies and sounds that stir the soul…and they routinely place artistic values before commercial ones.

GE: Which one of you could break more coconuts with your foreheads? (You are not allowed to use the other guys forehead).

AH: I haven't seen Tim's forehead from close to be honest. But I'm wearing glasses so i think Tim has an advantage here.

TG: I’ve only tried to open a coconut once before, and I had a large kitchen knife and still couldn’t open it. So I don’t fancy my chances using your method.

GE: Can you tell us a little about the title track? What does it mean?

AH “Love in the...." is a sequence of tracks I'm making. "Love in the 70's" and "Love in the 90's" are both in other works of mine. "Waves" album and "Getting Sleepy" ep. Its kind of difficult to explain it. Basically it came up from a vintage picture of a beach in California from the 70's. At the time I think i was strongly in love with a person so I kind connected how I feel with how people were feeling back in the days. It's a personal perspective in a way. So basically the title is the the name of the track "Love 80's". The 110 are the bpm of the track. It was Tim's idea to use it like this. Worked like a charm.

TG: Yes Antonis came up with the track name and I thought it worked well as an overall name for the project. It also has the potential to have more than one interpretation- Love the 1980’s 110%… for example. Given our use of retro Lo-Fi textures from time to time, (and the fact most of my childhood was in the 1980’s), I liked the idea from that aspect too.

GE: How'd you each narrow down your presumably large cache of tunes to pick two each to work on for the collaboration? Or were they started from the ground up after the fact?

AH Both of mine are from old projects that i never finished. When I stuck I go there and search what could work. Is mainly something based in luck. You listen and you begin work and alter everything track by track. So it transforms. I have tons of old projects that had small ideas or a base of various ideas all scattered around. It's nice to go back in something you ve worked in the past and change it to something completely new.

TG: I actually wrote mine from scratch for this project after listening to Antonis’ previous releases. I used to have a bank of unreleased tracks but I’ve used them all up and steered them in different directions for different projects! So everything I write / compose is now from scratch.

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REVIEW
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Two EPs and two LPs. If you've been following the advise of your physician and consuming every little bit of Triplicate Records audio we release, or indeed, if you're just cool, you'll be quite familiar with Fields of Few by now. Brainchild of Mr. Tim Gilbert, Fields of Few releases tend to take us through aural odysseys as enjoyable as they are unpredictable. Melding techno and ambient and anything else that works, Gilbert's tunes are a Triplicate mainstay at this point.

Here comes another thing you couldn't have predicted! A split EP with legendary electronic artist Melorman (Antonis Haniotakis), whose extensive discography provides a wonderful rabbit hole to fall into if you've yet to. Hypnotic and slick, with crisp and clear percussion-work. Remind you of anyone? Indeed this little collaboration ends up being a match made in heaven! Let's examine this intrepid little split.

Melorman's tune first! We're starting off with the title track folks, this is not a drill. No, in fact it's chill-out music. No drills to be seen, just up-beat, yet woozy and bright melodies set against shambling reverberated beats that feel as though they want to lull you into a blissful stupor of placidity, yet I'm shuffling shoulders and feeling the urge to dance as I listen to this straightforward, yet colourful, an excellently appropriate opener, well worthy of title trackdom.

Moving on, we have 'Afloat in Timeless Clouds' by Fields of Few. Classic Gilbertian soft electronica right here. Mellow and lovely, with a low-key beat and some truly mesmerising echoey synthesiser. Three things are almost immediately accomplished. 1. Gilbert demonstrates why this collaboration of two artists with similar musical sensibilities was warranted, 2. The avid Triplicator (that's you, I'm so sorry) instantly reminds themselves why FOF projects slap, and 3. one of his best songs to date gets delivered to your eager ears.

Back to Melorman, for Pikininu. I'll tell you right now I don't know what one of those is, but I do know that this is an absolute banger of a tune. Another mellow experience early on, showing remarkable restraint before half way through, switching things up deliciously with a crunchy percussion drop, and a ramping up of the colourful keys and pads doing their magical mischief. I hesitate to refer to a track on a split EP as a highlight, but this is certainly a personal favourite.

Finally we have 'Yesterdays Dreams', the second Fields of Few offering. It's good. I was right to show hesitancy in allocating 'Pikininu' as the highlight, because evidently the EP has two highlights. It feels as though Gilbert uses every ounce of his musical mastery to cook his tunes, but he put a little something special in this one. 'Hypnotic' is the only way to describe the progression of the tune, utilizing some truly beautiful synths against a wonderfully repetitive (but it's repeating beats I love so who cares) beat pattern. A lovely end to a lovely lil project, that I cannot recommend enough!