Crafting a deeply hypnotic electronic sound, Nickelson is the project of JP Hill, a producer based in Louisville, Kentucky. Hill’s newly released Gas Powered EP was written and recorded in his home studio, touting two tracks that compel with their driving synth-forward pulsing and interesting structural twists.
EP opener “Action on Corrino” builds steadily with clap-laden percussion and a swelling bass grumble. Spacey effects at the 30-second mark usher in a suave bass line, with eerie atmospheric tones emerging in the background a minute thereafter. The haunting texture past the two-minute mark conjures a sense of ’80s nostalgia, unsettling yet wholly melodic, in the vein of Oneohtrix Point Never. The EP’s other track, “Gas Powered,” rides on brisker percussion into otherworldly synth tones and robotic vocal impacts. Both succeed entirely in showing a consuming, creative electronic sound with unique personalities.
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“Action on Corrino” and others featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of April 2022’ Spotify playlist.
