I really dug Aubergine Machine – the collaborative project of producer Ian Carey and vocalist Shanti Ellis – upon finding them in the summer of 2014, posting three tracks (“Hostage“, “Hostage Riddim“, and “Sundown“) and noting how their approach reminded me of the excellent electro-pop collaborations between Röyksopp and artists like Robyn and Lykke Li, such as “The Girl and the Robot” and “Miss It So Much“, respectively. Two years later I’m excited to hear new material coming from the Florida-based duo, specifically “Only”, off their forthcoming EP <em>WildLife</em>. Their first single since a studio rebuild, “Only” is very catchy, with Ian Carey showing some of his ’90s hip-hop production love in the stuttering vocal sample and restrained rhythmic push. Ellis’ vocals are spot-on as usual, the “bang, bang” hook serving as the track’s core point of contagiousness. Glad to hear that this act is back at it and better than ever.
