If electro-producer
Diplo wore flip-flops and was more Euro-minded, he just might be the effervescent
Feadz; that is, if Frenchman Fabian Pianta didn't already occupy that moniker. Here, the frequent
Mr. Oizo and
Uffie collaborator offers light and breezy, but not necessarily easy, dance numbers.
Instant Alpha is a debut album where sunshine techno and minimal electro are all allowed plenty of room to roam, and sometimes evolve, as many of the songs' endpoints sound entirely unrelated to their starts. Check the great "Metaman" for proof as it crashes through the door like a drunk
Aphex Twin, then coasts along the shoreline with nylon-string guitars spinning in tight loops, all before a screwed-and-chopped Rasta, plus a snappy trap beat, bring the song to a close. It's a lot to take in, and yet it's as smooth as silk, and while plenty of other tracks stutter in that "Harlem Shake"-style, or chop up disco like
Daft Punk gone ninja,
Feadz is a master at making fragments sound both harmonious and melodious. Mad Decent artist
Kito, French hip-hop fun man Tekilatex, and Parisian turntable champion DJ Kodh all contribute to this loose, fuzzy, and frivolously fun party album. ~ David Jeffries