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Delroy Edwards Hangin' at the Beach LA Club Resource

08.08.16

When Delroy Edwards stormed the dance scene with his rough and ready anthem 4 Club Use Only, he became one of the most hyped producers of the time. Edwards has since strayed far from the template of his early releases, with 2014’s mini LP Teenage Tapes digging at menacing post-punk noise.

Teenage Tapes now acts as a bridge to his latest album Hangin’ at the Beach. Presented as his debut album proper, Hangin’ sees Edwards assemble his bare bones lo-fi sound across 30 tracks. The album is jolting; a beguiling tapestry of coarse audio collages that quickly shift from ominous, crap cop show ambience, dusty techno, library music and blown out noise. Much like his chopped-and-screwed Slowed Down Funk mixtapes, this mercurial montage of post-punk, EBM and darkwave presents Edwards at his spontaneous best. Sounding like a lost 80s tape that’s been buried under stacks for decades, there is a raw aggression and impulsiveness here that triggers memories of Throbbing Gristle, Thomas Leer and The Normal, with jabbing synths and shredded drums jilting your cerebellum.

Feeling hastily thrown together and sounding purposefully low budget, Hangin’ sees Delroy mining the freaky, worn down sound that has always been essential to his work. With sleazy Hollywood as the backdrop and Delroy’s fuzzy hardware setting the scene, Hangin’s cinematic quality is the glue that binds these rough-hewn sketches together, projecting a gloriously pulpy B-movie montage of schlock and debauchery.