Classixx release of Faraway Reach mixes electronica with just about every dance-related genre imaginable, like a mixtape of favorites from the Los Angeles production duo. While somewhere between dance and disco, the album sets out to be more than a culmination of eclectic influences. Instead Classixx much rather guest stars them right into near every song, with nine of the 12 tracks featuring selected guests.
Opening with “Grecian Summer” is one of Classixx’s few solo outputs for the record, layered in easy going synths and chopped up vocal samples. The boys from De Lux are looking for a smooth talking slow jam for “In These Fine Times,” which sounds comfortably cool in any given time era. Incorporating the indie-tronica talents of Passion Pit for “Safe Inside” (think indie + electronica) fits each party well in…. Passion Pit positive vibes. “I Feel Numb” enlists Holy Ghost’s Alex Frankel to put the funk in synth-pop, where you start thinking that this collaborative effort is working out quite alright.
Singer-songwriter Tom Krell (a.k.a. How To Dress Well) puts his alternative R&B stamp on “Just Let It Go” with falsetto highs and dance echoing beats. Isles guests with hushed whispers in “The Dissolve” disco slow jam, as the record sounds more of a natural dance evolution while warping several genres all into one. Though the oddly chosen T-Pain sings in full Auto-Tune for “Whatever I want,” you end up believing him when declares that he can do anything he wants to – a bit like the entirety of this record’s sound. Even more intriguing is South African Nonku Phiri singing in Zulu (“Ndivile”) in what can roughly be translated as telling a grasshopper the story of their time.
After a slew of guest vocals, the chopped up samples interspersed throughout the eponymous “Faraway Reach” makes it apparent that Classixx are reaching for sounds from just about everywhere. Soon after Prince, no wait… Harriet Brown starts doing a halfway decent job emulating the late legend and hoping all “Eyes On Me” will at least prompt a few to look in his general direction. The faint echoes of “I know it must be you” in the synth laden “Pure Distraction” plays out with melodies that sound peculiarly upbeat & melancholy simultaneously. Australian house enthusiasts Panama sound even more down in “A Mountain With No Ending” as lyrics of running, losing air from each lung fade out with the album closer.
Perhaps would be more appropriately titled “Classixx and Friends” but featuring guests on records is hardly anything new – especially for electronica. While Faraway Reach does dabble in nu-disco and dance-pop and more, the group stays firmly rooted as a Los Angeles production and DJ duo intent on moving your feet. Yet with so many collaborations on only their second album release then it would hardly be surprising if Michael David and Tyler Blake (i.e. Classixx) evolved into something entirely new.