“Woah.” That was my first reaction to my first listen of London-based producer Fehrplay’s latest EP, Monte/Talk to Me. Jonas von der Fehr is the rookie star player that we’ve so often seen on Pryda Friends, and there he returns today for a little dose of tech house and deep house (but with a twist). Beyond his releases on the label, it’s fairly easy to tell that Fehrplay is personally and stylistically a “friend” of Eric Prydz, but this EP sets him off on his own trajectory. What’s usually lovable about his productions are the vocals that sound like they’re ripped straight from a vinyl record, and scintillating synths that are layered to sound like glitter in our ears, but today brings us to new territory. “Monte” and “Talk to Me” still hold those same basic values, but they’re updated to recall 1980’s synth pop, and venture into a deeper, darker and edgier place. This EP demonstrates the universality of von der Fehr’s music as quite a pleasant surprise.
