Nom De Strip have been around for awhile. And what I mean by awhile I mean like years and years.
Nom De Strip, or rather Chris Elliot is quite well known in the EDM circles and has been receiving a lot of praise for his producing capabilities.
I must admit that I absolutely hated and I still hate most of his older tracks. I checked out his Soundcloud like a month ago and I just couldn't bring myself to like anything. I was sitting in front of my laptop, listening to his tracks and thinking good God this a load of bollocks. I quickly forgot about Nom De Strip.
This changed when a mate of mine told me to check out Nom's new EP called Clouds. Now, let me tell you, I gave my mate a mouthful on how I don't want to listen to it because I just don't like Nom De Strip but my curiosity got the better of me in the end. I took another leap of faith and got myself the EP.
I was quite impressed that this EP was released by Mau5trap, this gave my some hope that this EP might just have good things install.
And boy was it something else. Opening up with the title track Clouds, I was completely shell shocked. I couldn't believe that it is the same producer that I hated awhile ago. Clouds is a perfect mixture of melodic bliss, catchy leads and an awesome drum beat.
I am a very big fan of punchy electro house tracks and Clouds definitely falls into that category. The opening arpeggio is so skilfully composed and beautifully harmonised with the main chords in the background that I was taken to another dimension. I am all for chord progressions being done correctly and according to a scale and Thank God this was done correctly.
The thing that I really like about this EP is that it only has 3 tracks. I hate it when EP's feel the need to go on forever and ever. Less is always more. Good life lesson to learn.
The next track on the EP is the progressive house track Counting Sheep. At first I thought this title was a joke but I quickly realised that it serves a purpose. The beat and the intro melody really sets off the tone for a metronomic feel to it which made me realise that this is why it's called Counting Sheep. I thought this was really clever and it made me like the EP even more. This track isn't as punchy as Clouds but it is definitely skilfully produced, all the elements are so well put together and the drop couldn't be more fitting. Relying on mostly just bass in the drop ,sequenced in a melodic progression was genius. You don't have any over the top drops but rather a drop that goes well with the rest of the song.
Pulse is the last track off the EP.It starts off as a seemingly generic house track which I thought would have a drum intro for like 5mins but it quickly changes after 1 minute or so when a staccato melody enters the equation and sets up the rise to the drop. The melodic nature of this staccato arpeggio is one that really caught my attention, it is a simple melody used to perfection. The drop is pretty much an extended version of the melody, the amplified and distorted bass and melodic feel to it just works so goddamn well. Pulse reminded me reminded me a lot of Kill The Noise's sound, especially the drop part. It serves as a great end to the EP. It brings together all the elements of Clouds and Counting Sheep into one track.
Nom De Strip's Clouds EP has definitely converted me to being a fan. Elliot's production capabilities are definitely a force to be reckoned with, the fact that he has the ability to compose melodies that are simple yet effective is another area which makes this EP so amazing.
To buy the Clouds EP check out Beatport.
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