REVIEW | Shenoda “Mines of Minolta EP” Fear of Flying Records

I caught a small part of Shenoda’s set at a recent LowBrow party in a small underground parking in Leeds and was impressed with what I heard. He is an up and coming artist and is making all the right noises within the UK Underground scene, his sound was perfect for the party, that luckily, I breezed through en route home after a busy night. He has a production pedigree of around 5 years, and some of you may know Laurie Shenoda from the integral part he has played in the development of the Hypercolour label. He has counted himself amongst this tight crew since the label’s inception.

Shenoda seems to be spreading his wings and leaving the comfort zone of what he knows and impresses with this tight offering. His sound is one that oozes understated coolness, throbbing lines and subtle melodies and is right at home in the coolest of underground parties. First up on this release is “Phonecall” a driving, pumping tip that is warm, ambient but pushes listeners forward at the same time. A looping sample which has telephonic vibes accompanied by a “hello, hello” vocal is subtly joined at arms by a nice melodic arrangement. This track is delicate yet lets you know there’s no messing around.

Next up is “Nighteater” a deep journey that is backed up by a pulsating bass line that we are sure will delight heads. Again Shenoda eases us in and all the tracks elements seem to come together elegantly, in a swirl of understated cool. The track keeps listeners interested and enthralled, with every layer of production comes a nod and feeling of warmth. Chunky, uncompromising beat again demonstrates this producers lack of compromise.

Completing this delectable trio of audio treats is “Supercede” the edgier of the three. Again a deep journey of a track this number starts off with a more haunting feel to it but soon softens up with a melodic warmth that plays off a bubbly almost aquatic arrangement that is punctuated by industrial sounding samples. It works!

Release Date: 22nd February