_{By Luke Fuller}

Ever since I’ve known him (and long before we met) Chris Spadafora, also known as fora.slc, has had a zest and excitement for music, especially electronic music, that is completely intoxicating. He has a knack for hyping up every producer, artist, and DJ in his vicinity, and giving everyone he meets a gift from his deep pockets of knowledge — whether it’s an artist recommendation, mixing advice, or how to use a piece of hardware. In the time I’ve gotten to know him Chris has truly revealed his abilities as a jack of many trades, which is why I was so excited to hear of the release of PUSH in May of this year.

PUSH is fairly short, containing only three tracks for a total of ten minutes, but the little time it fills is certainly enjoyable. Each of the three tracks take the overarching downtempo theme of the EP and pushes it (no pun intended) into its own direction in genre and style that offers a feeling of variety and makes the project feel much longer than it is.

From my experience, you can listen to PUSH for an hour or two and pick up on different things each time it plays through. I tried to approach it by listening to one group of instruments at a time, as contained in its minimal style is a wide breadth of dynamic and beautiful sounds that send chills down my back every time.

I found myself really enjoying the title track of this EP, which stands out as a surprising black sheep amongst the two tracks it is sandwiched between. “Push” isn’t as harmonic as the other two tracks and instead focuses much more heavily on the percussive and bass elements. The opening of the track gets me excited every time, with a nice buildup of glitchy, textured hi-hats and a well-hidden airy chord sound which all makes way for a nice round bass groove and more hard-hitting drums to drop in. I’m a huge fan of the very raw sounding breakbeat that comes in at the end of the song for a few bars, completely changing up the energy before the song ends.

Of course, it would be a mistake not to mention the other tracks, as they both offer so many sonic goodies for the listener to enjoy. “WASP” is a dense and rich sound jungle that really takes its time flowing from one idea to the next. It brings in elements of musique concrete and IDM by layering in what sounds like pill bottles shaking or running water as much of the primary percussive instrumentation. As those objects spin around your head there is, front and center, a swarm of synths that blend and intermingle into a beautiful stream the listener can just let themselves slip into in preparation for what comes next.

The final track, “GEMS,” certainly feels the most emotional of the three. The combination of the chords and the nostalgic sound of the 808 drum machine really brings this energy of dance music from the 2010s. This is the only track on this EP that is a collaboration, and Efrain Cuessy (otherwise known as CHILD OF GOD.) is the perfect person to have done it with. Just like Chris, Efrain is a passionate curator, producer, and DJ in the Provo scene, and he definitely brings his passion to the table with this track. They worked this track out on hardware Chris has in his studio before recording it and arranging it, and the fact that it is a live jam certainly shines through in the music. There’s a certain energy that comes out of musicians when working together live, and this track is a perfect example of that.

Overall, this is a great EP to sit and listen to. Whatever sort of EDM you vibe with, you’ll find something here to enjoy and maybe will pick up something new along the way. For a lot of projects, I would say that ten minutes is short, but this one definitely fills its time well and serves as a quick burst of rejuvenation you can slot into just about any part of your day. I could see some parts being overwhelming for unexpecting listeners, but the quality of the music will certainly and quickly set all concerns aside.

Be sure to follow fora.slc on Instagram, and check out the title track, “Push,” below!