Album Review: Christina Chatfield - Ascent/Decent
Album Review: Christina Chatfield - Ascent/Descent on As You Like It Recordings
October 20, 2020
Christina Chatfield (courtesy of AYLI)
The News
If you hadn’t already heard the news, San Francisco’s As You Like It (AYLI) are starting a record label - As You Like It Recordings - and the first release comes from 10 year AYLI resident Christina Chatfield. If you aren’t already familiar with AYLI we covered their history in a previous article. Ascent/Descent is set to be released on November 27, 2020, in commemoration of the four year anniversary of the Ghost Ship fire. AYLI graciously granted us the chance to listen to the EP in its entirety prior to release, so here is a sneak peak at what to expect and stick around till the end to hear about the next slate of releases coming from the label.
As with all As You Like It projects, the new label has an ambitious concept, composed of four different branches that encompass AYLI’s principles of timelessness, diversity, and local roots. Each branch—SEQUOIA, CEDAR, OAK, and CYPRESS—will focus separately on artists currently living in the Bay Area as well as those who have their roots there. Some of the branches will be exclusively digital releases while others will cover both digital and physical projects. Chatfield makes her debut on the latter.
Chatfield is known for her psychedelic acid techno sets - performed live on an array of gear - and has released 12” on Midwest staples Detroit’s Beretta Grey and Chicago’s God Particle. A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music and full-time professional sound designer, Chatfield has the kind of credentials only a few producers can claim and she leverages that experience to lend her productions a unique style and elegance - Ascent/Descent is certainly no different.
The AYLI Tree
Ascent
In her first effort for AYLI Recordings the acid vibes are strong and the record starts off with “Ascent”, a trippy track that is true to its name. It builds up from a throbbing bass and kick drum combination and then picks up speed with skittish hi-hats that pan deliciously (make sure to listen on some decent speakers or headphones) and help to build the track’s energy. The texture and layering of the synths throughout the track keeps the unrelenting bassline from feeling stale, which it could easily have been, and for me that made “Ascent” not only a dance track, but also a very enjoyable sitting and listening experience.
There isn’t a definite “drop” or moment that signals dancers to throw their hands in the air, but that would be gimmicky on this type of track anyways. Instead, the track travels like a locomotive steadily climbing up an infinitely tall mountain. At its peak, the acid synth lines take center stage and you can fully appreciate the careful programming that Chatfield has imbued into the build up - seamlessly tweaking the parameters of her synthesizers to create a track that feels like all the elements were recorded in one continuous take.
In fact, “Ascent” is almost like listening to Chatfield play live, but with the obvious studio benefits of being able to get the perfect take. Nothing can replicate the excitement of hearing a live version with all its unplanned mishaps and nuisances and perhaps the one failing of this record is that it sounds too polished. But whether you prefer Pollock or Monet is a matter of taste, not a reflection of their talent and likewise you can’t deny Chatfield is masterful with her own tools to paint in her own way.
Descent
What goes up must come down and that is precisely what “Descent” accomplishes. The yin to the yang of “Ascent” shares similarities, most notably with the style of percussion and a focus on an evolving bassline, but where “Ascent” was chugging train ride “Descent” sounds like a robot’s existential crisis. The track’s BPM is slower than on “Ascent”, but also noticeably more trippy. At its peak the track goes into overdrive with a squelching acid bassline that emerges vengefully from ethereal tones set by what I can only describe as “ghostly synth percussion”. And then there is the matter of the kick drum. I don’t know what sorcery went into programming the kick (I’m assuming Chatfield had a hand in scuplting it), but it is phat. If I was a techno producer I would buy this track just to sample that kick.
When I first saw the name “Descent” on the tracklist I was wondering what kind of descent the track would lead me on. After listening, I can personally say that it feels like a descent into madness - the kind that is terrifying at first, but eventually leads to eye opening epiphanies. If you want to know what I mean, for fun I recommend listening to “Descent” while watching this clip from the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now (mute the audio of course) - warning for anyone sensitive to blood, gore, or spoilers.
The two remaining tracks “Energies” & “Flutters” don’t make it to the vinyl release, so for the sake of brevity I don’t have too much to say about them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth having. In fact, some of the tracks that don’t make it onto the vinyl are some of my favorites. When it comes to these two tracks just know that they are the most energetic of the four original tracks. Plus, they have received a wonderful visual accompaniment courtesy of music videos made by visual effects artist Zachary Rodell.
The Remixes
Ascent/Descent also comes with four remixes from the likes of Tin Man, Noncompliant, former AYLI resident Lily Ackerman, and San Francisco producer Tape Ghost. Only the Tin Man and Noncompliant remixes of “Ascent” make it to the vinyl release, but if you are quick to order the vinyl on Bandcamp you can also get the full digital collection included.
The remix that stood out to me was Tape Ghost’s take on “Descent”. If the original was a measured spiral into madness the remix invites you to skip the line and dive into the deep end head first. The Bay Area producer gradually builds the track and incorporates droning synths and bass to create a wall of sound so thick it could be cut with a glowstick. It’s intense and foreboding and if that’s how you like your techno you are going to want to add this to your collection. Images of Akira immediately came to my mind when I first listened to it and I mean that in the best way possible. It is going to be absolutely insane to hear this one in the club - whenever that happens again.
Tape Ghost (courtesy of AYLI)
Overall
I would recommend this EP to all lovers of techno and acid. It’s a great slice of American techno that’s as exciting to listen to as to DJ. Plus, its a slice of the Bay Area’s long running history of techno and dance music. The remixes take unique spins on the originals, meaning that essentially you are getting twice as many tracks to play for the price of one EP. Chatfield is a producer that makes sleek and polished tracks for her live shows and her first release for As You Like It Recordings is no different. It certainly would have been nice to have more tracks make it onto the vinyl release, but overall it’s an impressive debut for the label.
AYLI Recordings is slated for a slew of releases to follow Ascent/Descent beginning with a V/A compilation called Riddim, featuring Bay Area Black artists made in collaboration with artists WOO and William Freeman.
Also in the pipeline are an album from RDS with remixes from Prins Thomas, Osborne, AIDA, Lando and Elexos, an EP from Derek Scott AKA The Rythemist, and an EP from San Francisco artist Tape Ghost with remixes by Donato Dozzy, Dave Aju, Kassem Mosse and Indy Nyles. Exciting news for Bay Area and international fans alike.
Christina Chatfield’s Ascent/Descent releases both physically and digitally on November 27, 2020. Pre-order on Bandcamp. If you want to learn more about AYLI, check out our in-depth profile of its history here on our website.
Check out more of As You Like It
Brennan Ko is the Editor for Fault Radio and member of the Oakland photo collective &TheOthers. He enjoys collecting records, being on the dancefloor, reading and writing about art and its sub-cultures, and playing video games.
