SCNTST SUMMER JAM EP

Summer! If you're going by the months, as in 3 months = 1 season, then tomorrow Summer officially starts. If you're going by British Summer Time having already happened, then we're in summer already. The point is that it does not feel much like summer. The sun's been out, like, a little bit, but mostly it's been cloudy. Sure, the temperature's ok, but it's not what you'd call "hot". This temperate climate doesn't generally permit anything over 20ºC - and when it gets anywhere near 30ºC, it is a true heatwave.

What am I chatting about? Well... I WANT SUMMER. Don't we all? Lazy days in the park, people walking in droves down by the river, the sweaty city and all its half-dressed inhabitants, the blue skies, the cool breezes sweeping across humid days, the long cocktail-shaped nights... Summer is good.

There is a good way to anticipate/enjoy-despite-the-lack-of summer, however, and that is via the medium of music. Listen to a summery song before summer, and you're either gonna want to cry or go driving blasting that very tune in spite of the weather - you also might just get really excited for the perfect summer's day. This is how I feel about scntst's Summer Jam EP. Maybe you will, too.

Yeah man, Germany's scntst has made a very very nice collection of songs right here. Starting with 'Summer Jam', even if it was called 'Winter Jam', I'd contest the name. It's just so damn summery. The flanging main melody, a concoction of guitary sounds, fluctuates like it was bending in the heat of the day, warping in those bubbling wiggly lines above hot tarmac y'know? Yeah, it's a mirage, a mirage right under the all blue of the cloudless sky. Raw open hi-hats accompany a beefy popping kick for a totally house disco feel, gets the blood pumping just like riding a bike in sweltering afternoon.

Occasional vocal samples top it all off, twinned with fizzing sounds like a summer gust, giving it the hazy ambience of a humid day. It's pretty perfect I'd say. Definitely captures that summer spirit. As do, actually, most of the songs on this EP: the late-night bass sensation of 'Sun Down' provides the perfect backdrop for a BBQ that spills into the deep chill of a summer night. Then there's the smooth drinking-in-the-afternoon vibes of 'Kantosa', wildly funky and packed full of sultry soul. Then there is the opener, the bustling urban soundtrack that is 'All Day' - coming first, it sets the mood to come, a cool cruise of modulated synths into a day of pure enjoyment. These four songs describe in music what a very nice summer day can be: busy, exciting, fun, chilled.

I urge you to listen to this many times.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Like scntst on Facebook
Listen to scntst on Soundcloud
Follow scntst on Twitter