Sepalcure – Fleur EP review

Another hotly tipped act to appear on Scuba’s Hotflush imprint, Sepalcure blend ambient soundscapes with lush melodies, hushed vocals and a deep, experimental post-dubstep sound that’s quite frankly, really rather wonderful. You may recognise them from their former constituent parts – Machinedrum (Travis Stewart) and Praveen (Praveen Sharma) – but the Brooklyn based duo, who recently marked their debut in Europe with their gig at Plan B in Brixton, have really come into their own as Sepalcure. They first emerged from the undergrowth using the new moniker late last summer with their Love Pressure EP, which stunned audiences across the globe and now they return with the highly anticipated follow up Fleur.

Kicking off with the EP’s title track, Sepalcure send us into a sublime headspace which is somewhere between contemporary hot shots like Mount Kimbie, Pariah and fellow yanks Vondelpark and Ninja Stalwarts like Cinematic Orchestra. Chiming instrumentals are paired with shimmying, faded out vocals and clipped woodblock beats. Next, “Your Love” takes things even more downbeat with echoing, reverbed atmospheric crackles and a warm, murmuring b-line yet there is a sense in which this track won’t settle – constantly fidgeting and looking towards the horizon until entering a contemplative passage towards the end. It leads us neatly into “No Think” – which could well be the defining track of the EP, what “Work Them” was to Ramadanman last summer. Here lurching 2-step rhythms hit home with great effect, the same shimmering, barely there vocals which saw before return and there’s an overwhelming sense of brooding darkness before a soulful element rounds it off. Divine. Finally, “Inside” closes the EP with a synth-soaked intro and short two-minute Flying Lotus style finale, incorporating string flourishes, muttering lyrics and warm ambient watercolour washes.

Belinda Rowse