"Oh no, only two tracks, but… I want more!" There, that's it, my review is done. Well, that was my first impression. My second impression the next day was more negative. Personal resentment and bitter memories came floating up. An unexpected reaction, one might say, because the music is far from resentful or bitter. While it might have a slight melancholy to it, the feeling I mainly get from it is one of low-key joy and encouragement. So, anyway, I kept listening and I changed my mind again. The more I listen, the more I become the person for which I imagine this music was made. I start to think I could be that person. Of course, I know I never will be, but that's the power of music—and the power of this release in particular. The whole release is a bit short, with only two tracks, but put it on repeat and it feels longer; ambient enough to not be grating and with enough local variation to not get boring. It also happens to be great music to listen to while reviewing it. :)
Genre-wise, I would call it ambient easy-listening with a heart, but also bits brain. It made me feel a little and it made me think a little (mostly about Asian skate culture being its own thing). Just enough to not give me a heart-ache nor a head-ache. The only negative thing I could say is that it feels a bit short (again). I know it's intended as an EP—which is short by definition—but two tracks (totalling at around 6 minutes) kind of doesn't qualify, in my opinion. As it is, it feels more like a single with an extra bonus track. I'm nitpicking now, though, and it could also be seen as a positive thing that I want more. :)
I'm guessing the artist's name is taken from the equipment being used for the field recordings and cut-up samples heard in both tracks. Even if not, it seems fitting; field recordings, in my opinion, add a certain degree of authenticity to pretty much anything, a feeling of having left your ivory tower—if ever in one—so associating yourself with it can't be a bad thing, can it‽
In short, I Win EP by thruoutin is:
- music for days with friends
- music for ambient rainy days inside
- music for inner city backyards and sanctums
- music for polite hustlers and soft-spoken urchins
- music for travelling known or unknown distant countrysides
- music for long summer nights when the sun kind of never wants to set and noöne wants to go home but you know you all have to part eventually
