by “Eagles & Butterflies possesses the rare ability in his music to unite a larger-than-life peak-time producer personality with the understated production method of underground records, techno pop and a modern Italo twist” – Gerd Janson
2024’s six biggest secret weapons have arrived: Eagles & Butterflies unveils ‘Heartbreaks & XTC’, a compelling and diverse six-track EP, out 13th September on Gerd Janson’s coveted Running Back Records.
Drenched in nostalgic retro dance vibes, Eagles & Butterflies continues his recent no-frills, stripped-back approach, letting the hardware do the talking. With two tracks literally named ‘H3000’ and ‘SH-09’ after iconic equipment, E&B delivers six raw tracks infused with a lo-fi crunch only achievable from physical vintage gear.
The lead track ‘Heartbreaks & XTC’ is a prodigious hands-in-the-air italo weapon. It’s all there: the glistening arps, the bulging arpeggiating bassline, the crunch of hardware drums, the anthemic pads. These come together to form what is surely a catalyst for any dancefloor.
“The return of the Mack. Chris Barratt aka Eagles & Butterflies possesses the rare ability in his music to unite a larger-than-life peak-time producer personality with the understated production method of underground records, techno pop and a modern Italo twist. Perfectly suited for Running Back, ‘Heartbreaks & XTC’ is luckily exactly that,” says Running Back founder, Gerd Janson. “The mirror image of Eagles & Butterflies and how to find common ground between polar flairs. Chord happiness, Italo bass lines, arp art, filter magic and side chain stunts. Indispensable to life or any dance floor near you.”
The EP’s second track, ‘Faith’, sits in the same vein as ‘Heartbreaks & XTC’, blending clean ravey piano stabs with delicious 80s-style vocal shots, and a hypnotic bassline arpeggio. ‘Time’, meanwhile, follows a more housey tip, yet carrying that italo atmosphere through via an ecosystem of juicy synths, chopping in and out through clever filtering.
‘H3000’, a title that nods to the Eventide H3000 multi-effects unit used by the likes of Daft Punk, ups the hedonism, veering almost into trance territory, centred around a distorted 303 bassline synth riff. The EP’s penultimate track, ‘SH-09’ – referencing the iconic Roland SH-09 synth – turns down the tempo, eerily chugging with layers of synth melodies that are pitched, pulled around and contorted to result in intriguing sonic textures. The final track ‘Saturday Morning’ sees E&B offer up an end-of-the-night rolling house beat, sitting beneath looping, dazed synths that swirl and stutter out of time.
In 2024, the work rate from Eagles & Butterflies has been impressive. So far, he’s released ‘Dopamine Vol. 1’ and ‘Vol. 2’ on his record label Art Imitating Life, the beginning of a new release series dedicated to showcasing a new, more energetic and hedonistic side to his sound, detaching from previous melodic techno offerings.
UK-born, LA-based Eagles & Butterflies has previously been honoured as Mixmag’s ‘Breakthrough Act of the Year’ and has appeared on the magazine’s cover. In 2016, and went on to establish his own label, Art Imitating Life, having previously released on Innervisions, Life & Death, and Correspondant. He’s remixed for artists like Bob Moses (‘Enough To Believe’ – 4.3M Spotify streams), RY X, Underworld, and Ludovico Einaudi. E&B has also featured on BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix and a Mixmag cover.
This sublime six-track EP from Eagles & Butterflies is another slab of pure vintage dance excellence from the producer – the third this year. If you don’t already know, this guy is your hot tip for 2024 if you’re looking for synth-heavy heaters.
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